Why Keep a Bolt Kit At Your Workplace

You never know when or where you may find yourself in an emergency (or worse) situation, but the odds are that it won’t happen when you are comfortably at home with every member of your family in your line of sight and all of your gear and emergency supplies just feet away.  It is much more likely that you will be away from home, at work, or even in your vehicle when the balloon goes up.  The S could HTF at any time and we must remain ready to respond.  With that mind, here are five reasons to keep a BOLT (survival/preparedness) kit cached at your workplace.

CIVIL UNREST

We live in a fractured world these days.  A world in which any number of flashpoints could splinter the thin veneer of societal peace, leaving those splinters to instantly fall away like so many shards of broken glass.  You can never know exactly when, where, or how this unrest may manifest itself and it could even spill out into the streets around where you are located.  According to the 2010 census, 80% of the U.S. population now lives in urban areas.  It is a safe bet that at least that number or greater also work in an urban setting, and since we spend so many hours at work, or commuting to and from work, here in the United States, it’s a pretty safe bet that if you are going to encounter civil unrest or riots in your lifetime, it will be when you are at your workplace.

 

ACTIVE SHOOTER / TERRORISM

A few years ago my building was put on lock down when my workplace was turned into a crime scene because a domestic dispute turned into a murder when an angry male entered the building and shot a female employee several times, killing her instantly.  The murderer was then shot by security forces inside the building ending the threat.  More recently, myself and my fellow employees were warned that there was a threat from a potential active shooter that lasted several months before he was finally apprehended by authorities.  Due to my chosen profession, journalism, my building will always be a target in today’s world and that is a reality that we must deal with daily.  Even with an armed security force on duty 24 hours a day, this is a very real threat.  Couple the reality that journalists and journalism have long been under attack from many angles with the fact that my workplace is located in the heart of a major metropolitan city, and not only is my place of work a potential target for the every day active shooter threat that has now become commonplace in America, but it is also a target for domestic or international terrorism.  This scenario is one that virtually mandates that I have a plan, the skills, and the gear on hand that will give me the best chance to make it home safely to my family at the end of the day.

SEVERE WEATHER

Mother Nature plays no favorites as to where and when she will choose to unleash her wrath.  I know this from first hand experience, having survived a direct hit from a tornado while at work about a decade ago.  After this event, communications were down for several hours and vital infrastructure was heavily damaged.  Also, I have been “trapped” at work for several days over the years due to “ongoing” severe winter storms and wound up spending the night at the office with limited access to food.  Even if you do not take the direct hit from a severe storm, your local area may be impacted effectively stranding you at work.  A good example of this would be localized, or even widespread, flooding.  Flood waters can come up in a hurry and whether you recognize the obvious threat that presents as the streets outside your office flooded with feet of water, or the less obvious danger as access to nearby travel routes prevent you from making it home, the threat is very real regardless.

STAGING AREA

You never know when disaster may strike and we must resolve to always be ready.  The situation may be that an emergency begins during your work day that doesn’t necessarily impact your workplace, but impacts the area around your home, in your community, or it may even be a crisis unfolding on a larger, regional or national level, and you have to leave work and head to your designated meeting place outside of work with no time or opportunity to return home.  Because of the built in flexibility offered to you through the tiered system we prescribe here at Practical Tactical, the kit you have built to keep at your workplace will now available to you to use/combine with your Get Home Bag (GHB) and/or your vehicle kit to help you make your way back to your family and other members of your team.

EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR / CITIZENSHIP

By having a BOLT (preparedness/survival) kit at my workplace, not only have I given myself a better chance of making it through any emergency situation that may arise during my work day, I am in position to help my fellow employees or other civilians should the opportunity present itself.

Keep in mind that if you work out of your vehicle or you often travel away from the office during your work day, you can easily adjust your kit setup so that it can be kept in your vehicle at all times, in addition to your independent vehicle kit.