Centralized Emergency Response Tools in the Home

Many lose sight of the fact that defensive firearms are simply emergency response tools.  As medical gear is designed to respond to medical emergencies, and fire extinguishers are made to respond to fire emergencies, a defensive firearm is designed to respond to emergencies of violence.  All such tools, however, do you no good if you can’t bring them to bear in time to respond to the given threat that presents.

I am an advocate of having at least one, but preferably several, locations in the home that are designated to hold these tools so as to facilitate a fast response to emergency.  In terms of defensive firearms, I advocate home carry, simply wearing your handgun, even when home, as the fastest way to deploy this tool is to do so from your own body.  I also prefer a quick-access handgun safe in the night stand next to the bed to facilitate the fastest access possible at night to a defensive pistol.  Beyond this, however, other emergency tools should be staged for the fastest access possible, yet with security maintained. 

I like having a designated location for three primary emergency response tools: a full trauma kit, a large fire extinguisher, and a rifle.  The handgun is on me or next to me in a quick access safe at night.  Beyond this immediate weapon of personal defense, however, are these other important tools.  Consider keeping a small long-gun safe under your bed or in your bedroom closet with a loaded long gun in it, and keep a large fire extinguisher and a full medical kit next to it.  This centralizes these important emergency response tools so that in an emergency you will naturally go to the one location rather than have to remember where the fire extinguisher is, or the med kit is, etc…, instead, all tools will be centralized. 

I am also inclined to recommend keeping other fire extinguishers and med kits in different locations.  For example, I also keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen (that should be a no-brainer) and in the coat closet at the front door.  I keep one in the furnace room as well.  Similarly, smaller med kits reside elsewhere in the home, and in vehicles as well.  However, the largest tools, being a long gun, large fire extinguisher, and full medical kit, are centralized, and serve as the preferred option for responding to an emergency.  If you do not do so already, consider such a setup.  A long gun in a quickly accessed safe, a large fire extinguisher, and a full medical kit in a bag, can all tuck under a bed or live in the corner of a closet rather unobtrusively.