33% of Brits have an emergency kit, but most of them don't have anything to start a fire

I was reading an article earlier (it popped up on my Facebook wall) that said that 1/3 of people in the UK have a "grab and go" bag for emergencies, but the majority of them don't include things which would be crucial if they had to survive in the wild. Most of them had mobile phones or canned food, but didn't have simple fire starting equipment such as matches!

As most people wouldn't know where to begin with starting a fire without matches or a lighter. I think most people would just grab two sticks and rub them together, and hope something happened!

 

Well to be fair, it's mostly for city calamities, like storms, earthquakes, or fires. I don't think they would anticipate someone being transported in the jungle or anything like that, when they were designing the grab bags that would be placed on emergency exits in homes. So it's not really that big of a deal, because with civilization and society, I think statistically, there are a good number of people that would be able to start a fire in the city, in the event of a calamity, and fire can be passed on from group to group just like that. So it is more important in the city to have first aid kits, as well as other gear that would be used to help in temporary crises.

 

I'm inclined to agree. I literally don't think I know anyone who has a 'grab and go bag' - hell, even myself as someone familiar with the concept of what it and what's it's there for, and had also thought I should be putting them together for my family still haven't had the foresight to put it together.
That being said, at the very least one would think you'd pack some form of lighter. Yes, you may live in the city and the disaster may be city based but there is a chance you'd have to get as far from the city as you possibly could and in essence fire could well become your lifeline. And it';s not like it's going to take up a hell of a lot of space or weight either. It's literally a Zippo lighter and some lighter fluid.

 

The article I read was quoting some research conducted by a university, it might have been Sheffield university. I'll double check later when I've got a bit more time. I also doubted that 1/3 of people had a bag ready for emergencies, and perhaps the question was phrased badly so that people were confused about what a grab and go bag was. Obviously these types or research have to be taken with a pinch of salt anyway, as you are depending on people to tell the truth when they are asked the questions which people rarely do.

 

Ha, it's funny you should say that. I used to smoke, and had a heap of lighters when I did.
But since quitting I don't.

I couldn't even begin to guess how many Zippo lighters I've had in my life that have just vanished into thin area (in some cases I suspect they've been pinched.)

 

People don't usually think of the occasion of starting a fire, and there's no full-proof way of starting a fire. Putting matches or a lighter into a emergency kit ,would be rather dangerous and i don't think people would assume the consequences if someone actually got hurt with that.

 

I agree, most people in British cities wouldn't be thinking about starting fires, if there was an evacuation from peoples homes in a city it's highly unlikely that they would be going anywhere in the wilderness.

 

I went to live in a city a few years ago for a while and most of the people I knew there didn't know how to put up a tent or start a bbq.

The British people would probably be trying to avoid fire anywhere since the cities would be burning before long, I was living in Manchester when the riots were going on, my colleagues had to get locked in the building we worked in because of what was going on outside. No one is going to hot foot it out of the city and into the country, a survival kit for that kind of event would probably consist of a weapon and some cash to barter with.

 

Here in the U.S., I would bet dollars to donuts that way less than 33% of all people have a grab-n-go bag for emergencies. Actually, some of the people I know that actually do have one, only about half of those bags are what I would call anywhere near adequate. My grab-n-go bag weighs about 19 pounds and is in a backpack, so I don't have to worry about portability. Nineteen pounds seems heavy but you can carry that on your back with ease.

 

People don't usually think of the occasion of starting a fire, and there's no full-proof way of starting a fire. Putting matches or a lighter into a emergency kit ,would be rather dangerous and i don't think people would assume the consequences if someone actually got hurt with that.

 

This data would indicate that Americans may be better prepared than I thought. I tried to look some things up, and this is what I found. I can't vouch for the validity of the statistics, but for arguments sake we will take it they are accurate. Only 39% have a preparedness plan. Only 29% have emergency supplies. How many include Fire in their preps I have no idea. I would like to think, and I may be woefully naïve, that most people would recognize that Fire, Water, Food, and Shelter are the most basic necessities. That is where you start.

https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2018/comm/how-ready-are-we.html

 

I have to say that I am more than a little sceptical about the figures. 33% seems for too high, and I would be surprised if those having grab bags it into double figures percentage wise. We do, however, have a lot of sailors in the UK, being a relatively small island, so I would expect most of them to have an emergency bag in their kit - but they, of course, would not carry fire making kit.

 

If you don't have a way to make a fire you are just a dead person waiting for your last breath. I totally don't understand the comments about matches being dangerous. I suspect this is similar to the people that believe in Dangerous guns. A match doesn't just spontaneously strike itself and start a fire.

I quit smoking tobacco 30 years ago and still carry a lighter every day. There are so many ways to dependably make fire that I find it hard to believe that anyone doesn't know several FOOL proof ways to make fire. Every one of my kits has at LEAST three different fool proof ways of starting a fire.

I include jute twine, greased cotton balls and fat wood in the kits and also have little birthday candles to make spreading it around easier. If you can't think of a way to make a fire then you probably think that food only can be found at grocery stores or restaurants too.

 

Agree Lonewolf. Firelighting skills are much prized in the UK by peppers, bush crafters etc.

 

I guess I was raised as an outdoors sort of person. I have always been a fire builder. I love a fire to look at on a cool night and always built one when I was out at night fishing or just walking and wanted to sit and relax for a while. To me fire making seems to be an almost instinctive behavior and people not having a clue how to do it is just unimaginable to me. We cooked with fire both inside and outside.