This is Part #3 in this series. If you haven’t read Part #1 and Part #2, you probably should.

< Lesson Learned: 10/7 Attack on Israel (Part #1) >

< Lesson Learned: 10/7 Attack on Israel (Part #2) >

As you well know by now I am a big believer is After Action Reviews/Reports (AARs), and a critical part of that process is coming up with a list of “Lessons Learned” (LLs). Learning from mistakes helps avoid making those same mistakes again and again.

I was not in Israel at the time of 10/7 attacks. I do not have access to any classified information on what happened before, during, or after the attacks. I have watched hours and hours of reports, interviews, first-hand accounts, military videos, first responder videos, and read many first-hand articles/accounts of that day by survivors and responders. While I am not representing these LLs to be all-inclusive or without flaw, I feel confident that these observations and conclusions are well-grounded and applicable to learn from.

Further, these posts are not intended to denigrate Israel, the IDF, Israeli citizens, victims of 10/7 or in anyway take from the horrific attack on their country and citizens by Islamic terrorists, Hamas. There are many heroic stories of acts of bravery by countless men and women in Israel that day. My goal is to provide information and my opinions on how to prevent such things from happening to you and to your family.

There will be multiple posts in this series to help cover what I feel at important and applicable topics.

#8 – Communications

Remember there are two parts to communications; 1) hardware, 2) software. And no, for software I am not referring to the software found in electronic devices like computers. The software I am referring to is how/when people communicate, the ‘people’ aspect of communications. The hardware part is easy…the actual devices used to communicate, and the equipment to support those devices.

In the early stages of attack Islamic terrorists did some damage to cell and radio towers. Fortunately that damage was not sufficient enough to eliminate all communications. It did however disturb communications to some degree. It is impossible for me to make an informed statement as to the degree that the physical damage actually hampered the ability of police and military forces to respond to the attack.

When it came to the ‘software’ or people side of communications the problems become more evident:

• • Civilians – While it appears that cell-phone coverage was more than adequate and any damage to cell towers, etc. was not severe enough to substantially reduce the ability of civilians to communicate. However, it became clear to me that people were not knowledgeable enough, or properly trained, to use communications effectively. It appears that people passed inadequate and inaccurate information between each other. While attacks were taking place within a community, there are many reports of civilians calling/texting distant relatives or friends vs communicating threat information to others within their own communities. Additionally, it appears that civilian members of community security response teams did not have sufficient, adequate, or standardized methods of communicating among themselves.
  • Police – There was an initial, clearly apparent, problem with police communications. The initial targeting and severity of the terrorist attacks against police officers and their infrastructure seriously disrupted the ability to relay sufficient/adequate information to up-line authorities. My impression is that there were no dedicated communications personnel…all officers were directly involved in tactical defense. There is some evidence that attaching terrorists did target radio antennas, power plants, and other police communications equipment…but it is unclear if that added to the communications problems.
  • Military – IDF itself has reported that their communications that day failed miserably. It primarily centered around not being able to acquire adequate information on the situation in the area involved in the attacks by higher authorities. Further complicating this process breakdown was the fact the military headquarters in the affected area was under heavy attack itself. During these types of intense battles it is often hard, sometimes impossible, for on-the-ground personnel to provide accurate situational information (SitReps). This is usually a result of intense threat of being over-run, lack of training, or lack-of experience…especially for high-stress situations. There also appears to be another factor involved…leadership. There is a saying in the emergency response leadership community; “It is better to have resources and not need them, than to need resources and not have them.” Had the centralized higher military leadership reacted by providing military response resources immediately upon learning of the chaotic situation, the IDF would have been on-scene within an hour or less vs 8 – 10 hours later. It goes back to SA…gain just enough information to make a good decision. Example: Reports of inbound rockets and gunfire comes in, although solid situational information is not available…roll rapid response forces immediately. They can always be turned around later if they are not needed.

#9 – Self-Sufficient Security

This particular point to me is a sore one to be sure. Many communities were protected only by a small police presence and little to no IDF military presence…even though these same communities were located directly adjacent to extremely violent terrorist strongholds who were well-armed and had attacked these communities previously. This is absolutely staggering to me in the scope of the bigger picture. Additionally, you had a music festival taking place with thousands of people present with no organized and well-armed security force…and no police presence that has been reported.

Granted, many of the communities did have civilian security teams who were organized to provide defense of that community. However, the reports indicate that half of these team members became casualties trying to reach the community armory where their weapons, ammunition, and body armor were stored. And the same reports indicate that approximately half of those that did reach the armories became casualties soon thereafter. Meaning…only 25% of the security team members were able to engage the attacking terrorists in defense of their communities. Further adding to the dire situation, almost all of the effective 25% had their homes destroyed and families murdered, burned alive, or kidnapped and taken to Gaza or killed en-route. The reason for the armories…Israel’s extremist gun restrictions and controls.

So here are some issues that I see on the part of the government:

• • The festival organizers completely failed to provide even a minimal security presence to protect the event participants.
  • Police leadership failed completely in anticipating the need for police officer presence at the festival either to enforce laws or provide protection.
  • The police leadership completely failed in properly staffing, training, and responding to the potential of terror attacks of this nature and/or magnitude.
  • The military leadership completely failed in properly staffing, training, and responding to the potential of terror attacks of this nature and/or magnitude.
  • Government organized community security teams were not properly provided with weapons, ammunition, and body armor that were readily available for them to do their job.

As I see it…since all government sponsored/organized security failed…it fell back on the citizenry to protect themselves. And they, the normal citizens, were wholly prevented from doing so due to the government’s extremist stance against guns. Ironically, the Jews during WWII in German, Poland, etc. were unable to protect themselves as well against the Nazis. Why? Those countries had extreme gun control laws preventing the average citizen from protecting themselves. And as such…millions of Jews were slaughtered.

When terror strikes…how far away is government protection? Even in the best of circumstances that protection is minutes away. But the terrorist attacked damage can be over withing within seconds. The best that can be hoped for is the police engage the terrorists upon arrival, but after the initial attack…sadly though, your family is probably already dead. Worst case…protection forces show up 8 – 10 hours later…long after your community is burned to the ground and its citizenry decimated.

The best community defense/protection comes from those citizens themselves…well armed, well trained, well organized, and ready/willing to protect their families, their homes, and their neighbors. Self-sufficient security is the answer…not dependence on government protection. A side or secondary benefit to self-sufficient security…much lower, or eliminated, criminal activity.

Series Articles –

• Lesson Learned: 10/7 Attack on Israel (Part #1)
• Lesson Learned: 10/7 Attack on Israel (Part #2)
• Lesson Learned: 10/7 Attack on Israel (Part #3)

Related Articles –

• Layering & the Common 7: Part #4 – Communications
• 7 Days of September – Day #3: Communications
• Tell me again why I need a radio…
• ComSec – What is it and how do I use it?
• Phonetic Alphabet
• Situational Awareness: Part 3 – Barriers to SA
• Situational Awareness: Part 4 – Team SA
• Monday Morning Personal Message…
• “Rise up !” Actions & Suggestions
• Couple things on my mind this morning…(8/26/2022)
• Time for a Step in an Action Plan!!
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu

 2009 - 2023 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

This is Part #2 in this series. If you haven’t read Part #1, you probably should.

< Lesson Learned: 10/7 Attack on Israel (Part #1) >

As you well know by now I am a big believer is After Action Reviews/Reports (AARs), and a critical part of that process is coming up with a list of “Lessons Learned” (LLs). Learning from mistakes helps avoid making those same mistakes again and again.

I was not in Israel at the time of 10/7 attacks. I do not have access to any classified information on what happened before, during, or after the attacks. I have watched hours and hours of reports, interviews, first-hand accounts, military videos, first responder videos, and read many first-hand articles/accounts of that day by survivors and responders. While I am not representing these LLs to be all-inclusive or without flaw, I feel confident that these observations and conclusions are well-grounded and applicable to learn from.

Further, these posts are not intended to denigrate Israel, the IDF, Israeli citizens, victims of 10/7 or in anyway take from the horrific attack on their country and citizens by Islamic terrorists, Hamas. There are many heroic stories of acts of bravery by countless men and women in Israel that day. My goal is to provide information and my opinions on how to prevent such things from happening to you and to your family.

There will be multiple posts in this series to help cover what I feel at important and applicable topics.

#5 – Normalcy Bias

Normalcy Bias is the refusal of your brain to accept that something has happened, will happen, or to what extent something has happened.

Report after report from 10/7 survivors made several points; 1) they thought it was just another rocket attack or a warning of a possible rocket attack, 2) even after people heard gunshots they didn’t connect it to a terrorist attack, 3) at the music festival, site of hundreds of young people slaughtered, even once they realized they were being attacked by terrorists, many didn’t react (try to escape) for 10 – 15 minutes. There are even videos of Israelis in cars driving past Hamas terrorists killing other Israelis and then dragging them out of their cars…and then the passer-byes getting killed themselves.

Ironically, these festival folks lived within hearing, a short walk, or in close proximity to Gaza…a heaven for Islamic terrorists (Hamas) who have repeatedly and publicly stated they want to kill all Jews and wipe Israel off the map. Israel is a country who has been regularly attacked by Muslims trying to eliminate the entire Hebrew religion and country of Israel. Israel is considered to be one of the toughest countries in the world in terms of being able to defend itself and its military prowess. Yet, almost all civilians and most police suffered from Normalcy Bias that day.

I have no explanation for this phenomena. I would have thought that Israelis, of all people, would be attuned to the signs of a terror attack and the correct steps to take to defeat the terrorists or at least protect themselves and their families.

The only thing I can suggest is to allow strange and out of the ordinary situations to startle you into action regardless of how foreign the event seems. I am asking for you to allow your mind to accept things as they truly are and not how you see them through all your psycho-social filters. A good example of what you can do to help prevent Normalcy Bias is “War Game It” with a buddy or two, or your wife, and say “What if this actually did happen, regardless if we think it will happen, what would we do?”

If you fail to recognize reality for what it is, reality will give you a wake-up call…and that could be a fatal mistake.

# 6 – Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive Dissonance occurs when we are presented with two or more sensory inputs that are contradictory to our expectations we can become very uncomfortable, very unbalanced mentally. Then we will consciously or unconsciously shun anything that is causing the unbalance. Meaning anything that is out of the ordinary will be blocked out mentally or simply ignored.

Cognitive Dissonance is similar to Normalcy Bias…but Cognitive Dissonance is the actual mental process that is taking place when presented with extreme out of the ordinary sensory inputs. Example: We hear rocket attack warning sirens, which we are used to, but ignore the sounds of gunfire. Example: We see people wearing masks with automatic weapons killing people in cars, but drive by them anyways because our brain can’t accept that unbalance of seeing terrorists killing our neighbors on the streets of our community.

The only explanation I have for this phenomena is lack of training. The citizens who lived in close proximity to some of the most violent Islamic terrorists in the world simply didn’t train for the possibility that they could be attacked…even though they lived within sight of those terrorist strongholds.

This could only be looked at as a complete breakdown of government emergency preparedness. Well, that and citizens not taking responsibility for their own emergency preparedness and safety. And this shows in two major ways; 1) extreme gun control by government, 2) lack of people applying for gun licenses.

# 7 – Situational Awareness

Situational Awareness (SA) is accurately observing and understanding the things taking place around you, then using that information to make good decisions and then take appropriate action.

Touchy subject alert – Somehow all of the Israeli intelligence services, the entire military, and all police resources missed that Hamas we preparing an extremely violent terrorist attack on 10/7…even though Hamas had been planning and preparing it for over a year. So thousands of those folks all suffered from poor, or non-existent, SA. But that was only the beginning.

If you look at the barriers to SA you see almost a textbook case study of just how bad it can get. Here are just some of them:

Physical Barriers:

• • • Communication – Hardware
    • Communication – Quality & Quantity
    • Staffing (under staffed, level of training)

Emotional/Mental Barriers:

• • • Normalcy Bias (includes Complacency, Perceptions)
    • Competency Bias
    • Overwhelmed (including: stress, distraction, conflict & Paralysis by Analysis)
    • Culture
    • Tunnel Vision

Looking at the situation objectively:

1. 1. 1. Communications broke-down fairly quickly due to radio/cell towers being disabled by attackers and poor, lack of adequate information being passed to next-level authorities by forces on the ground.
      2. Police staffing was extremely inadequate, and virtually no IDF presence even though the area was located in very close proximity to known terrorist strongholds.
      3. Normalcy and Competency Bias was rampant with civilians, police personnel, and military forces.
      4. Due to the sheer size, scope, and ferocity of the attacks civilians, police personnel, and military forces were overwhelmed. It took 8 – 12 hours for a solid IDF response to the attacks, and even days to clear all of the areas.

Basically…objectively speaking, SA was essentially non-existent that day. And that fact killed hundreds in an of itself.

Series Articles –

• Lesson Learned: 10/7 Attack on Israel (Part #1)
• Lesson Learned: 10/7 Attack on Israel (Part #2)
• Lesson Learned: 10/7 Attack on Israel (Part #3)

Related Articles –

• TRAP – The #1 obstacle to people getting prepared for emergencies and disasters is Normalcy Bias.
• TRAP – Normalcy Bias can kill you quicker than Competency Bias.
• TRAP – The #1 obstacle to people getting prepared for emergencies and disasters is Normalcy Bias.
• Immediate Action Warning!
• Then they came for… (part #2 of 3)
• Initiative ’17 – Part #5: Flipping the Switch
• Situational Awareness: Introduction
• Situational Awareness: Part 3 – Barriers to SA

 2009 - 2023 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

As you well know by now I am a big believer is After Action Reviews/Reports (AARs), and a critical part of that process is coming up with a list of “Lessons Learned” (LLs). Learning from mistakes helps avoid making those same mistakes again and again.

I was not in Israel at the time of 10/7 attacks. I do not have access to any classified information on what happened before, during, or after the attacks. I have watched hours and hours of reports, interviews, first-hand accounts, military videos, first responder videos, and read many first-hand articles/accounts of that day by survivors and responders. While I am not representing these LLs to be all-inclusive or without flaw, I feel confident that these observations and conclusions are well-grounded and applicable to learn from.

Further, these posts are not intended to denigrate Israel, the IDF, Israeli citizens, victims of 10/7 or in anyway take from the horrific attack on their country and citizens by Islamic terrorists, Hamas. There are many heroic stories of acts of bravery by countless men and women in Israel that day. My goal is to provide information and my opinions on how to prevent such things from happening to you and to your family.

There will be multiple posts in this series to help cover what I feel at important and applicable topics.

#1 – Can’t Depend on Government Protection

Repeatedly the same issue came up…the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) was not able to respond quickly enough to protect citizens in the Gaza border settlements. In addition, the local police were not present in sufficient numbers, or with adequate arms, to provide security for those same citizens. A quote from an Israeli source, “the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were caught flat-footed.”

In most cases settlements/neighborhoods were attacked by relatively limited numbers of terrorists. However, these terrorists were well armed, fairly well trained, organized, and with a clear mission. They outgunned police in almost every situation, often using RPGs to initiate the attacks to overwhelm initial defenses. IDF troops were too distant to rapidly respond to provide defense, taking as long as 8 – 10 hours to arrive on scene. This allowed terrorists virtual free-reign to carry out their attacks.

According to IDF reports, further complicating the issue was “the IDF’s division headquarters under attack, it was almost impossible for the chief of staff in Tel Aviv to find out what was going on or how to respond in those crucial early hours of the assault.”

Israeli citizens were not able to depend on police personnel or military troops to provide adequate defense.

#2 – Gun Control Doesn’t Work

At the time of the attack Israel had, and still does have, extreme gun control laws. Only licensed gun owners may lawfully acquire, possess, or transfer a firearm…or ammunition. And then they are required to establish a genuine reason to possess a firearm or ammunition. The minimum age for gun ownership in Israel is 27 years, 21 years if completed national service or 18 years if served in the military; and gun owners must re-apply and re-qualify for their firearm license every three years. Licensed firearm owners in Israel are permitted to possess only one firearm and a limited quantity of ammunition.

These extreme gun restrictions made it relatively easy for terrorists to attack unarmed citizens who were unable to fight back and effectively defend themselves or their children. Those who might have possessed a pistol found they ran out of ammunition very quickly. There were entire neighborhoods and communities where no one had a gun to fight back against the terrorists.

Israeli citizens were not able to provide any reasonable self-defense against terrorists due to extremist gun controls, effectively disarming the population who lived in close proximity to known violent terrorists.

#3 – Safe Rooms have to be Safe

From Israelis themselves, “In the South of Israel, near the Gaza border, it’s a much different reality. These safe rooms did little to secure children watching their mothers murdered and mothers watching their kids’ souls leave their bodies—small bodies that were then wrapped in body bags.”

In 1992 by the Israel Defense Forces’ Home Front Command, established new civil defense regulations. The regulations required the inclusion of a residential protected room, a communal protected space, or an institutional protected space in every newly constructed building. “The rooms are meant to keep you safe from rockets.” However, a recent building inspection, showed about 75% of the safe rooms surveyed had one or more defects, and 70% of the shelters inspected had major construction flaws as well.

Many of the safe rooms that were breached in Israel during the 10/7 attacks had doors that could not be locked from the inside, they were also not even capable of stopping rounds from rifles or pistols from penetrating the inside of the safe room. There were many reports of residents trying to secure the doors with twine, vacuum cleaner hoses, wood, and bare hands. None of the safe rooms were resistant to fire. When terrorists did find a secured safe room they would simply start fires in the house to kill people in the safe rooms by burning them alive or force them out due to smoke and heat and then murdering them.

If a safe room is to be utilized in a home it must be able to withstand all threats that may be realistically imposed upon it. Further, it must be readily accessible, easily secured, and all aspects of its operation and capabilities known to all residents regardless of age.

#4 – Lack of Adequate Ammo Supplies

As outlined in #2 above, Israeli citizens had to apply for, qualify for, and receive a gun license before purchasing or a gun or ammunition. And even then, gun license holders can only have 50 rounds of ammunition on hand. Israel has gun laws that can only be described as ‘extremist’…and this directly led to hundreds of Israeli citizens being murdered, raped, and kidnapped. Since 10/7 Israel did relax that ammunition restriction…licensed gun owners can now have 100 rounds of pistol ammunition on hand.

Anyone who has ever been in a gun fight knows that you can blow through hundreds of rounds in a single, rather brief, battle. Even during training classes I have used 500 or more rounds in less than a day with measured and limited usage. In one class I ran almost 1000 rounds of AR ammo and another 300 rounds of pistol ammo. On one VIP protection detail I had 73 rounds on me, four 18-round mags and one in the chamber of my Sig. Even then I felt uncomfortable in case of need.

Without an adequate supply of appropriate ammunition your weapon(s) become completely useless. Not only should adequate ammunition supplies be available, an appropriate amount ammo should be pre-loaded in magazines and stored for easy/ready access.

What do I consider an adequate supply of ammunition? Here are my thoughts for minimums; 1) Pistol: 200 rounds of Hornady XTP, Golden Saber, or similar, 2) Shotgun: 300 rounds of 00 buckshot, Slugs, Hornady SST, 3) Carbine: 2000 rounds of a good penetrating round if 5.56, FMJ if 7.62. These are “per” weapon for immediate use. Pre-loaded minimum amounts in magazines, per-weapon; 1) pistols – 50-80 rounds, 2) carbines – 10 magazines. Magazines should be easily carried on your body in appropriate pouches.

Series Articles –

• Lesson Learned: 10/7 Attack on Israel (Part #1)
• Lesson Learned: 10/7 Attack on Israel (Part #2)
• Lesson Learned: 10/7 Attack on Israel (Part #3)

Related Articles –

• Grid-Down House Security : Strengthen your door…
• Shotgun Ammo Load-Out
• Choosing the Right Gun

 2009 - 2023 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

Updated at 2:45pm with an added “Lesson Learned”…#10.

Also added, was the outcome of the “fix”.

All of the updates are in red color text.

It has been a long time since I did a Lessons Learned, although I am working on a series for the COVID experience. So, after dealing with an issue this morning I thought it a perfect time to do one…and I am doing it semi-real-time. Yeah, yeah…I know…original content time…sorry 😉

One note before I start, I usually keep the “issues/mitigation” grouped together as a pre-summary content item. This time however I am going to do the “issues/mitigation” inside of the background to let it make a little more sense since there is a convergence of several issues going on here. And I want to show how “convergence” can really do a number on you…but “prepping” can overcome it all.

Background –

This morning I woke up to an almost cold wood stove, 57⁰ in the bedroom, 59⁰ in the main part of the house…and to make it worse…fully expected. Normally it would be warmer in both areas by at least 4 – 10 degrees. But this morning I knew it wouldn’t be…and it was expected. But I better back up and explain some issues first.

Lessons Learned: Expect the unexpected.

Heat: When I build our house I planned for our primary heat source to be a wood burning stove. We have about 1,000 sq ft house and a wood stove heating is perfectly fine and popular in our area. Temps range from the lowest I’ve see -5⁰ for a 20-year record low that occurred in 2018. Average this time of year about 9⁰ – 30⁰ at night, to about mid-30’s to mid-50’s during the daytime. But, the story goes deeper than that.

Our cabin/shop was to keep the small wood stove that I bought for that use. However, money got tight towards the completion of the house so we moved the small 1,200 sq ft rated stove to the house…thinking to replace it after the first winter when our budget could absorb the purchase. So we have a wood stove that is really barely capable of heating the house. But, it also means that I have to get up 1 – 3 times at night to feed it with wood. No, don’t worry about that…at 65 years of age I am answering the call of nature at least once anyways. 

Lessons Learned: Sometimes cutting corners…or using an alternative option seems good at the time, but it will probably come back to bite you later.

What Happened –

So, the last 3 – 4 days it has been mild at night and in the mid to upper 50’s during the day. The daytime temps drove us to maintain smallish fires during the day just to take the edge off. But, small fires also mean cooler smoke…more likely to soot-up your chimney. But, we have top quality chimney components to offset that issue…so we thought. The problem was the wind; it’s been windy so the cool smoke was hitting the bird cage (smallish square vent holes) part of the chimney’s rain cap and cooling the smoke even further. That allowed soot to build up and block some venting holes completely and clogging up others, some stayed open. That reduces the amount of smoke venting out the chimney…and that ain’t good.

So why didn’t I notice the clogging vent holes when I was outside? Ah, good question…and I will get to that. For now, back to the heat issue.

So the primary heat was the wood stove, but I like to think I am not a dummy; I had a back-up…Mr. Heater Vent Free 30,000 btu propane heater. I had bought and used it to heat the house while I was finishing off the inside and before I moved the wood stove to the house from the cabin/shop. It worked fine…but would suck a 100# propane tank down in about a week. My intention was to use it in emergencies once the house was finished and we were living in it, should an emergency occur. Yes, that means I had a propane outlet close to the wood stove where I would place the heater if the need arose.

But, I am a redundant kind of guy. I also have a Mr. Heater “Buddy” (4,000 – 18,000 btu) model that I used in the cabin/shop before the wood burner. It also acts as a great single room portable heater. And it is intended to be used in the cabin/shop.

And lastly, I installed a 24” electric baseboard heater in the bathroom and a 36” electric baseboard heater in the bedroom.

So I have a Plan A (wood stove), Plan B (electric baseboard), Plan C (big propane heater), and Plan D (small propane heater). I got it covered!

Lessons Learned: Have really good plans…thought out in advance, and have multiple back-up plans.

So let’s move on to the next phase…the allergy shot. I have allergies and in this area they can be bad at times and really get me down…congestion, drainage, coughing, potential for bronchitis that potentially moves into pneumonia if left untreated. So about 7 months ago I got my first allergy shot here. It was an under-dose and so a month later I was back to the clinic for another shot…a full-sized shot this time. The doc said it would last 3 months and encouraged me to come back when it was time. Yeah, sure, ok, no problem.

A month ago, a full month past the 3-month allergy shot effective timeframe, I noticed the sniffles coming on, blowing my nose a little more than normal, and then came the watery eyes, some real congestion, and more coughing, lots of drainage, etc. But, I was busy with a couple high-profile projects…no clinic trip for me…work comes first!

Lessons Learned: Use a calendar for important events…and stick to it.

And our propane supply…ah, yes. We live way out in the sticks for a propane truck, so no 500# tank for us…no sir. But, the propane guy was cool he talked me through a system that would work just fine. Well, at least most of the time and if I did my part. We have two 100# tanks, each tank will last use 2 – 5 months depending on our usage and time of year. The two tanks are connected with a 2-way valve, both tanks hooked to it…one tank runs out, flip the switch and it goes to the other tank. Take the empty tank into town…$2.15 per gallon later (24 gallons), hook it back up at the house and we are good to go.

Ah, remember I was so busy with my project that I neglected all the signs that I needed another allergy shot? Yeah, that kicked into the propane issue as well. The empty tank sat there for the same month not getting refilled. Then I didn’t refill last week because I was helping my neighbor. This week I didn’t refill it because I didn’t want to have my lungs ripped out of my chest and see them lying on the ground while I gasped for air in intense pain. Yeah, a bit melodramatic…meaning it would really, really hurt to lift one or both tanks, into the pickup, and then put them back into place once they were filled.

So don’t think I am too dumb…I had purchased a used 100# tank for emergencies and it just sat there ready in case it was needed. And I have a long hose on one side of the “flip switch” to be able to hook it up to the 25# propane tanks (grill size) as wll. I have three 25# tanks for the grill and house back-up.

To recap my propane…Plan A (enough propane for 6 – 10 months), Plan B (back-up tank for another 3 – 5 months), Plan C (3 small tanks for 1 – 2 months), and lastly Plan D (usually 8 small 1# tanks for the Buddy).

Note: I also have the conversion hose and adapter for the Buddy to run off the 25# tanks, so I guess that is a Plan E.

Lessons Learned: Have really good plans…thought out in advance, and have multiple back-up plans.

Lessons Learned: Stick your plans…don’t ignore them.

So what is the issue??????  The allergy shot.

So my allergies kept getting worse and worse…I was hurting and knew I had to go get the shot…then my out-of-town neighbor called. He lives about 4 hours away in the big city and has a nice 10acre place next to mine. He is remodeling the old house and I am doing the majority of the work helping him out. He and his wife were coming up for a long weekend…the next day. He started outlining the work he hoped we could get done. I am all in when it comes to helping him…he is a good man, great friend, and so the help was a given. The allergy shot could wait till the next week. Ah, mistake!!

Shortly after he got here and we were working I noticed a shortness of breath, more congestion than normal, and really tired. The next day I noticed my chest was a little painful when I bent over, then went to stand up. The next day it was much worse. By the time they left Sunday night I was really hurting, it was painful to say the least. So I knew the allergy shot was a must! But, Monday’s are the worst day (busiest day) for the clinic…I would wait until Tuesday morning.

But, Tuesday morning came and went and I was busy neck deep in a project that just couldn’t wait…I could tough it out. NOT!!!

By late Tuesday afternoon I was in terrible, horrible pain…my chest hurt anytime I moved. If I coughed, sneezed, or sniffled hard I would almost cry the pain was so bad. Then I recognized what had happened…pleurisy! I had it one time before about 20 years or so ago. I remembered it developed after a severe allergy bout. It was back.

Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura — a membrane consisting of a layer of tissue that lines the inner side of the chest cavity and a layer of tissue that surrounds the lungs. It becomes inflamed when it becomes infected. It becomes infected from the results of advanced symptoms of allergies run amok in my case.

So how does that all fit in? I’m getting to that…be patient.

Lessons Learned: Health comes first whenever possible. Don’t ignore warning signs of health problems.

So I get to the clinic get the allergy shot, get the meds for the pleurisy (antibiotic and steroid), and head to the store for some hardware for my on-going project. Oh, FYI…the antibiotic kills the underlying infection causing the inflammation, the steroid basically reduces the inflammation until the infection is gone.

And, the project I was talking about now and earlier…my third solar array. Why a 3rd? Because I am getting a new inverter and charge controller. Why am I getting those? Because 1 of my 2 new lithium 24v batteries went bad and I was getting a single 48v lithium vs two replacement 24v batteries. Oh yeah…there is a story there as well. Another time maybe. For now just know we are running our solar system on limited power. No problem…I have two back-generators; 1) inverter style to run the whole house and/or charge the batteries through the inverter, 2) another in case the first one goes out and I need to charge the batteries through the inverter. I try and keep 10gals of gas on hand all the time, filling can #1 when it get empty but still having can #2 full for back-up. The two cans give me about 20 hours run time. I can run the generator for about 1 – 1.5 hours to fully charge the batteries.

So I get home from the clinic, take my meds, reluctantly put my feet up and stop working so I can heal. By then I was in intense pain whatever I did…even sitting on the couch watching TV hurt. Felt like getting hit in the chest with a hammer…and breaking a rib each time.

What does all of this have to do with the chimney having problems? Ah yes…lack of attention…more on that later.

Since I was working at the neighbor’s place I had done less than the minimum at our place. The weather was mild so we were doing cooler fires during the day, and not really hot fires at night. And due to my complacency I wasn’t looking at my chimney at all. I normally look it over a couple of times a day just as a precaution. But now I wasn’t doing that the week before while I was working at the neighbor’s. And when they left I wasn’t doing it because I had my feet up trying to get over the pleurisy.

So it’s Thursday and I noticed a little trouble with the woods stove draft. The smoke was lingering in the stove and an occasional “puffing” into the room. Yup, restricted airflow up the chimney! No problem though…build a hot fire and burn-off the buildup and you are good to go. Ah, mistake! Although it had worked in the past…not this time. The buildup wasn’t in the chimney proper, it was the birdcage vents in the rain cap…but I didn’t know that because I wasn’t looking at the rain cap. So the hot fire just created more of problem. No problem though…burn a creosote block and clear it that way…with a hot fire. Ah, mistake for the same reason as before…the buildup wasn’t in the chimney proper, it was the birdcage vents in the rain cap…but I didn’t know that because I wasn’t looking at the rain cap. So that step just created more of problem. But it is night then so I would just nurse a fire overnight and deal with it the next day…Friday. I unknowingly made the problem worse just nursing a cooler fire all night and creating more of a buildup on the rain cap vent.

Friday I finally went outside to assess the amount of smoke coming out of the chimney…and there it was, a clogged birdcage in the chimney rain cap. So I tried a couple of things to unclog the vents from the ground…none of which even remotely worked. But the intense pain ensured that I was in no way going to climb a ladder some 15’ and try to work on the chimney. So I tried the hot fire trick again.

Did you know the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome?

Lessons Learned: Pay attention to details…ALWAYS!

Lessons Learned: For the important stuff…have a back-up person trained to do the same job…paying attention to the important details.

Mitigation –

Finally Friday night the wood stove is in bad shape…well, the chimney actually. No problem…I was feeling WAY better by Friday night…THANKS meds! So I figure nurse a fire overnight and fix it Saturday. And that brings me to this morning…

I wake up at 3:30am to 57⁰ in the bedroom, 59⁰ in the main part of the house…cold! But only 32⁰ outside…not bad at all…nice little blessing. No time to waste…got to get to work. Steps taken:

1. Reluctantly get out of nice, warm, very comfortable bed.
2. Put on long-sleeve thermal, put on flannel shirt, pants, wool socks, shoes, etc.
3. Cover wife with her heavy robe.
4. Cover wife with additional blanket.
5. Tell wife everything is OK when she mumbles something about, “Is everything ok?”
6. Move dog and dog bed away from electric baseboard heater.
7. Dog grumbles and gets on the bed…in my nice warm comfortable spot.
8. I get the Mr. Heater Buddy fired up in the bedroom…gotta take care of my wife!
9. I go outside and start stand-by generator to charge the batteries so I can run the baseboard heaters.
10. Back inside and turn on the baseboard heaters.
11. Move the Buddy to the main part of the house.
12. By now it is 58⁰ in the bedroom, 60⁰ in the main part of the house, 31⁰ outside.
13. Drink a glass of Pepsi with ice…wake up!
14. Get on warm coat, hat, headlamp, gloves, and head to the shop to get the BIG BOY heater…the 30,000 btu Mr Heater wonder!
15. Back to the house, hook up the big heater, replace the battery in the igniter, turn on the heater to “pilot”…nothing. Several minutes later, and some serious worrying, it finally lights off…I am happy…wife will be warm when she gets up…peace has finally settled over the world.
16. Sit down and eat 2 pieces of cold pizza left over from last night so I can take my anti-Pleurisy meds. Oh, and another glass of Pepsi. 2nd dog wakes up to share my pizza…she is sorely disappointed. Now both dogs have me on their short list.
17. It is now approaching 5am, 59⁰ in the bedroom, 64⁰ in the main part of the house, 31⁰ outside
18. I sit down and watch some news, and realize that this could be a great “Lessons Learned” article I could write. A lot going on and a perfect convergence of events. I head to the computer.
19. It is now 6:40, 64⁰ in the bedroom, 69⁰ in the main part of the house, 29⁰ outside
20. Wife is still asleep, both dogs are sharing my nice warm spot on the bed. I am almost done with rough draft of this article…and life will go on. Oh, just ate three chocolate chip cookies to quell the heartburn from eating last night’s pizza earlier this morning.
21. After finishing this article and getting it posted, and after it is full light outside, I will get the ladder and clean the vents on the rain cap. Then I will disassemble the wood stove’s interior chimney pipe to make sure everything is nice and clear.
22. Put it all back together and shut down the electric baseboard heaters, shut down the 30k propane heater, and drink another glass of Pepsi celebrate.
23. Afterwards I will gloat all weekend to my wife at how tough I am, and how smart I am, that I got it all figured out, had multiple plans in-place to keep us safe and warm, and tough enough to fix the problem…even while sick on my deathbed.
24. Pray she doesn’t realize it was multiple cases of negligence on my part that caused all of it to begin with. And really pray she doesn’t read this article!
25. Next Monday, first thing, fill both propane tanks, and the gas can that I am sure will be empty by then.
26. Make plans to buy the new wood stove.

Note: The next allergy shot date is already on the calendar.

Lessons Learned –

1. Lesson Learned: Expect the unexpected.

I tried to think about the “what if’s” at every step of the planning phase of just not building our house, but our entire lifestyle here at the homestead. While You can’t think of everything, don’t let the unexpected surprise you, know that the unexpected will happen. Then bring all of your plans together to mitigate the problem.

2. Lesson Learned: Sometimes cutting corners…or using an alternative option seems good at the time, it will probably come back to bite you later.

While I would like to say, “Never cut corners!” that is not always feasible/practical/realistic. Do the best you can with what you have. If you cut a corner, plan to mitigate any related failure until you can correct the cut corner. Correct the issue as the soonest realistic opportunity.

3. Lesson Learned: Use a calendar for important events…and stick to it.

Sometimes life is hectic, sometimes memory isn’t good enough. Have a family calendar for important events and use it.

4. Lesson Learned: Have really good plans…thought out in advance, and have multiple back-up plans.

This one should be a no-brainer. I hope what I already have written shows the necessity for having really good plans. Fortunately for me I had plans, back-up plans, and back-up plans for my back-up plans. That kept a bad situation, non-working heat source, from making us miserable or worse. When creating those plans make them as simple and as practical as possible. Plans that are too complicated stand a far higher chance of failure. Also, go deep on your plans…3 deep is good, more is better.

5. Lesson Learned: Stick your plans…don’t ignore them.

Yes, you have to be flexible and adaptable in what you do. But plans are there for a reason, use them…stick to them. If they don’t work, then figure out an alternative course of action.

6. Lesson Learned: Health comes first whenever possible. Don’t ignore warning signs of health problems.

What is my #2 item on the 7 Common Threats and Risks? Injury and sickness. You can’t perform at your best, maybe not at all, if you are injured or sick. Take care of yourself. I can’t imagine where I would be if I hadn’t gone to the clinic when I finally did. At the very least I would be in extreme pain, very cold, frustrated beyond belief, and a very unhappy wife. At worst…well, we won’t go there.

7. Lesson Learned: Pay attention to details…ALWAYS!

Granted, I was sick, but that is no excuse. And yes, it was nice of me to be helping my neighbor. But, the bottom line in this situation is I still needed to pay attention to my life’s details. I didn’t have to have a mutually-exclusive situation. I could have easily take the time, and been more motivated, to pay attention to the important details such as ensuring our primary heat source remained fully operational.

8. Lesson Learned: For the important stuff…have a back-up person trained to do the same job…paying attention to the important details.

And this is a tough one for me…not thinking I have to do everything all the time. I am not the only person that can do the important things. My wife is a smart lady (other than marrying me), I could have easily walked her through the wood stove heating principles and asked her to keep an eye on the chimney as well. That would have been two sets of eyes all the time keeping track of what was happening. And, when I lost it this last 10 days, she could have had good Situational Awareness of the chimney and warned me of the buildup.

9. Lesson Learned: The existing baseboard heaters are not sufficient for my needs.

I will move the larger bedroom electric baseboard heater into the bathroom, replacing the smaller one there. I am buying a significantly larger electric baseboard heater for the bedroom that will be sufficient for that space. The smaller electrical baseboard heater from the bathroom will now get installed in our small spare/storage room.

10. Lesson Learned:I had optional medicine available and didn’t remember that.

I had plenty of OTC allergy meds, including those with “D” on the label, meaning decongestant. So I could have started treating the allergies as soon as the first symptoms showed up. But, for reasons unknown to me I completely spaced it and forgot about them. That is called “tunnel vision” and a killer of good Situational Awareness.

Summary –

It all started with the neglected allergy shot. I didn’t keep track of the date, the ever-worsening symptoms, and the early onset of pleurisy. And while that was happening I neglected my health while placing work, ours and neighbors, above my health. And I considered myself too busy to refill the empty propane tank when it needed it. Now, I have one completely empty tank and the other tank is about 25% full. NOT a good situation to be in during the middle of winter.

The convergence were these major issues:

• Under-performing solar system.
• Low propane levels.
• Serious and worsening health situation.
• Primary heat source going out.

Fortunately, at every critical step I had a good plan in-place to handle the challenge. And I had multiple back-up plans to deal with any surprises. Planning works!!!

Now it is 7:30am…Heartburn is no better, time for a couple more chocolate chip cookies AND a tall glass of cold milk. I am sure that will cure the problem. It’s also 65⁰ in the bedroom, 69⁰ in the main part of the house, 29⁰ outside. It is getting light outside. I will head out to work in another couple of hours or so. I hear my wife waking up, so it’s time for me to make her a nice warm mug of herbal tea…and start gloating about all I’ve done to make our family safe and warm…how entirely awesome I am. Oh, and start praying as I mentioned earlier…that she doesn’t figure out it was all my fault to begin with.

Please take the time to read this article, think through what happened, my mistakes, my planning, my actions this morning…then see if you can apply anything to your situation. The go eat a couple of chocolate chip cookies and drink a glass of cold milk…the combo cures far more than heartburn!

2:45pm update: Called a neighbor, good friend, told him I would have sausage gravy and biscuits ready in 30 minutes AND I needed help with a chimney issue. He was there in 25 minutes, ate at least his share. I was grateful.

We talked about the chimney issue. We decided a complete overhaul. Out came the drop cloths, tools, chimney brush, shop vac, etc. We completely cleaned every inch of the chimney pipe, the rain cap, the bird cage, AND the wood stove as well. We were filthy when we were done, but our test fire went perfectly, and all is good. Then we ate burgers that my wife fixed. And yes Linda, my wife helped all along the way.

My chest is now hurting again, I am really tired, the shower felt great, and nap time when this article is updated.

My thanks to Judith, Barry, and Linda for the wonderful feedback and suggestions. They got incoprated into this article as an added “Lesson Learned”…#10.

Note 1: I do have a primary stand-alone smoke detector/alarm and a primary carbon monoxide detector/alarm. Then I have a combination unit, smoke & carbon monoxide, that is hooked up to my SimpliSafe system. So not to worry about the wood stove and/or propane heaters. And yes, I have an outside air supply for both the wood stove and propane heater.

Note #2: It’s now 8:20 and I am about to post this article. It’s also 66⁰ in the bedroom, 70⁰ in the main part of the house, 30⁰ outside. It is full light outside. Wife is awake and asking for her tea. Hot water is on for the tea. I will start the sausage gravy and biscuits for breakfast shortly. I will let you know how the “fix” works out.

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See Content Use Policy for more information.

Yeah…OK…it was “click bait” to be sure. But yes, it is also true…just not maybe the way you were thinking.

Truth…yes, I shot myself. More truth, it was with a nail gun.

Background –

So there I was…10′ up in the air,  on a ladder, using my air-powered nail gun to install soffit under the eves of our 1000sq’ retirement house. Things were going along nicely until I felt a dull stabbing pain in my left index finger. I looked at the finger and there was a nail that had gone through the piece of soffit, through the furring strip and into my finger having entered right beside the knuckle. And yes…I was kind of in disbelief.

So I had to lift my hand up to pull the nail out of my finger, then climb down the ladder. Of course I gently lowered my Hitachi nail gun to the ground first. Once on the ground it really dawned on me what I had just done…and the pain started to show up. Strangely enough it wasn’t a searing or sharp pain…more like a dull ache. I wrapped my handkerchief around my finger to stem the blood flow.

I started to walk to the cabin…then it dawned on me, “Why walk the 100 yards?” So I turned and headed to the UTV to drive the 100yards to the cabin where my Family First Aid Kit (FFAK) was. All I could think about was getting it washed out, cleaned up, bandaged, and get back to work. Yeah…not thinking real well at the time.

I got to the cabin, retrieved my FFAK, went out to the front deck, and started to asses the damage. I didn’t really think about it at the time…but I was shaking. I used the BandAid Wound Wash to clear away the blood and allow the lidocaine in the Wound Wash to dull some of the pain. It would also help prevent infection due to the antiseptic in it.

I had been thinking about it and while it wasn’t too painful, I started wondering if there was any bone damage…as in penetration of the bone or splintering. Having been an EMT on the street with the fire department for a number of years I knew that if bone damage or fragments were present I could be dealing with not only infection but other more serious issues.

I flexed the finger, it hurt, but was flexible, although not as much as normal, I didn’t sense and grating. I then felt around the entry hole, joint, etc. and could feel no unusual movement or anything like bone fragments. But, I am no expert or doctor so I decided an x-ray was the safe bet on this one.

It was weird…there was this tiny entry hole and no exit hole. I remembered not seeing the tip of the nail poking out the skin. I figured it had slid up the finger right along the bone. Total length inside my finger…about 1-1/4″.

I got it cleaned up, applied some triple antibiotic, and then wrapped 1-1/2″ gauze around it. Now, time to call my wife. After a somewhat brief conversation, once I got her on the phone, it was decided she would double check to see if there was a closer place for treatment than the hospital in the nearby larger town while I would start the 30 minute drive. No, no need for a medi-vac or even an ambulance…not really life threatening or even all that serious in reality.

On the way to town, about half way, she found an emergency clinic that was closer than the hospital emergency room. Cool…it would be closer, probably less waiting time, and obviously cheaper. I asked her to call them back and make sure they accepted our medical insurance.

Making the story much shorter…got to the clinic, I was patient #2, got in quick, x-ray, bandaged up, prescription for 10-days of cephalexin, and I was on my way back to the cabin.

Issues/Mitigation/Reality –

1. Issue: I am building a house which can be fairly dangerous due to the potential of construction accidents. Mitigation: I would keep my phone on me at all times in case I was hurt I could call for help. Reality: I had been working on the house for 4 months with not even a close call with an accident. My phone was in the UTV not in my pocket where it should have been.
2. Issue: Accidents do happen. Mitigation: We have a well-stocked FFAK for just such instances. Reality: The FFAK was 100 yards away in the cabin
3. Issue: Our house is located out in the sticks. Our closest neighbor is 500 yards away. The closest nice neighbor is 1000 yards away, small town 20 minutes away, larger town 30 minutes away. 10 – 12 minutes of fairly rough dirt road just to get to the highway. Mitigation: Keep truck ready to go, keys in the ignition during the day, UTV handy at all times. Reality: Truck improperly parked, no keys in the ignition, didn’t even think about the UTV at first.
4. Issue: There is the potential need for emergency medical/accident care. Mitigation: In addition to the FFAK and training, we have a great trauma hospital 30 minutes away, there are two life-flight helicopters available. Reality: I wasn’t sure that I would make the drive myself if shock set in. I don’t know our address to give to 911 to get an ambulance there. I don’t have the GPS coordinates to my house to facilitate a helicopter ride to the hospital.
5. Issue: While there is a great trauma hospital 30 minutes away, there might have been closer medical care facilities but I didn’t know that. Mitigation: Pre-identify any potential medical treatment facility. Reality: Not done.

So there I was…accident victim, alone, 30 minutes from medical care, and honestly…fairly unprepared for it. I always thought that if something serious happened I would call my wife (320 miles and 6 hours away) and let her coordinate the response via phone. Well…reality time! She was busy at work. First call to her office got someone who didn’t know where she was. I then called her cell-phone…ignored. Called her right back…ignored. Called her right back…text message response…she was busy and would call me back later. Called her right back…text message response…she was busy right then and couldn’t talk. Called her right back…she answered and was a little miffed, she had been working with a client.

While she was talking I spoke over her, “I just shot myself and I need to go to the hospital.”

Yeah, that got her quiet. Shortening the story…the plan…

• She started to coordinate the response while I headed into town.
• She was to call me back in 20 minutes to make sure I was still mobile.
• She would check to see if there was a closer medical treatment facility. Yeah…Google it!
• She would call ahead to the hospital to let them know I was coming.

What happened…

• She found a closer emergency treatment clinic.
• I went there instead.
• She called ahead to let them know I was coming.
• She called them back to make sure they took our medical insurance.
• She called me back and kept me on speaker phone while I drove to the clinic…about 15 minutes.

Lessons Learned –

1. Having the cell phone on me as a mitigation step was a great idea…if I would have had it on me. I had grown complacent. So, I need to stick with our mitigation strategy and avoid complacency.
2. Having a great FFAK was wonderful! Having it 100 yards away from the worksite was not a very good idea. So maybe a better idea would be to move it to the worksite. But, considering I spend more time at the cabin than the worksite…maybe not such a great idea. Better idea might be to have two FFAKs…or at least a scaled down version at the worksite to provide immediate first aid till I got to the FFAK at the cabin.
3. Having cell-phone communications with my wife is great! Depending on her to coordinate a medical response…not so much. Rework that whole mitigation strategy for more practical response/coordination.
4. Having great medical treatment centers nearby is fantastic! Knowing where each is, what their level of trauma care they can handle, and how to get there is absolutely necessary. And all of that needs to be done in advance of the actual accident.
5. Having ambulances and life-flight helicopters available is an incredible blessing. Knowing how to get them to your location could be considered imperative. Knowing that in advance of an accident is a necessity.

Summary –

I am recovering nicely. Finger is at about 75%, mostly no swelling, no infection, and very little discomfort. And I know I got lucky. There were a number of points along the way that could have made things turn out far differently. Fortunately, I can learn from this experience…and maybe you can learn something from my experience as well.

It’s great to have plans in-place to deal with risks/threats…but only if they are realistic. And part of that means that you actually have taken the mitigation steps. The other main take-away for me…avoid complacency. I became complacent and left my cell-phone in the UTV vs. having it on my person. What if the nail had actually nailed my hand to the house where I couldn’t climb down off the ladder? Then what? Yeah, I hate to think about that one.

Accidents are real. Risks and threats are real. It doesn’t take an emergency, disaster, or grid-down event to require advance planning to mitigate the potential of injury or worse. Neglect mitigation steps at your own peril…or that of your family.

Whatever project/task you are involved with:

1. Identify what realistically can hurt you.
2. Develop a realistic mitigation plan.
3. Stick to the plan.
4. Avoid complacency.

<to read more about risks/threats/mitigation click here>

<to read more about emergency medical care and kits click here>

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