Red Cross ramblings, fuel can fumings, AK/AR comparisons

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I saw on the news that the Red Cross is still getting blowback from their operations (or lack thereof) in La. following the hurricane there. The main complaint seems to be that on a small/local level they do okay, but those small on-the-ground units are hampered by lumbering out-of-touch corporate bureaucracy. Remember the scene in ‘Blackhawk Down’ where generals in Washington are trying to manage a battle over satellite? Theyre in Washington giving orders to troops in Somalia who are engaged in firefights. Same thing.

Solution? Everyone has a solution. Mine is to do what most militaries do. Give broad guidelines and tremendous lattitude to the on-scene crews to do what they think is necessary within the pre-established framework. Of course, I also think a military-like approach to disaster relief would make a huge difference. Not military as in gun-toting gung-ho types (although theres certainly a place for that in any disaster relief org.) but rather in terms of TOE, rapid deployment ability, logistics, etc, etc.

The girlfriend and I were going through our snail mail the other night and there was a ‘send us money’ letter from the Red Cross. The girlfriend said that in the past she had donated but that she wouldnt this time. I asked if it was because of the mismanagement of the agency that has come to light in the wake of Katrina. She said that wasnt the reason, her reasoning was that it made more sense to spend that money on our own preparations. By our being prepared, we are not a burden that the Red Cross needs to put resources into. In short, since we’ll be ready the RC can go elsewhere. (And, of course, theres the added bonus that we dont have to stand on food lines.) A very practical response. One less needy couple means the RC can focus their efforts on someone who isnt prepared.

Does this mean I dont think the RC is worth donating to? Not sure. They do good work in terms of first aid/CPR training and the smaller stuff. However, I think that money would be better invested in community/state level disaster relief. After all, the RC will take a couple days to get to you whereas the boys at VFD #1 will already be there the second the hurricane is over. Municipalities have no shortage of properties that would be suitable for secure and structurally resiliant supply storage facility.

I’ve said it before, but its true – Katrina/New Orleans will be the paradigm for most disaster planning for the forseeable future. It was hust too ‘perfect’ an example to not use…there was lawlessness, out of control cops, local and federal impotence, dramatic tales and footage of survival, huge body counts, etc, etc. Its every ‘survivalist fantasy’ made manifest.  All the elements are there. The scenarios that previously just existed in badly-written ‘mens action’ novels (*Ahern*cough*Johnstone*)actually existed and, by implication, could exists again elsewhere. Definitely a wakeup call to the less-than-prepared.
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Im experiencing some disappointment with the plastic Blitz fuel cans. This requires some mental imagery so bear with me. The spout that comes with the can is, when not in use, inverted so that it is inside the can. Follow me? Problem is, the spout hangs down far enough into the can that its mouth comes in contact with the fuel. When the temperature changes the expansion/contraction of the container and the vapors within creat pressure and fuel is forced up the spout and then seeps out the cap. Very bad. The solutions are all unappealing:
Fill the cans to the point where the fuel doesnt come in contact with the spout – so my 5-gal. containers is a 4.5 gal.?
Remove the spout and simply use a cap on the mouth of the can – Easiest but removes convenience of having a pourable spout available with the fuel.
Leave lids screwed on cans loose enough to allow vapor/pressure bleeding – Im sure you can see the unappeal of that

Sadly, if I continue to go with the plastic cans, option #2 looks like it may have to be the way to go. About now someone will ask why not use the MFC (mil. fuel cans) that are available. Well, for my needs theyre probably a good choice but damn they are spendy. Let me quickly recap my needs vis-a-vis plastic vs. metal fuel cans: metal cans are for long (>1 year) storage of fuel and are preferred for their lack of permeability and their durability. The plastic cans are for short term (<1 year) where their permeability is mitigated by the six month rotation of fuel. Also, theyre conveniently cheap at about $5 ea. versus $30 for the metal cans. One thing I very much want is the convenience of having the fuel spigot attached in some way to the fuel container so that it is unobtrusive but always there. The plastic Blitz cans seemed like a good idea but now Im not so sure. The MFC seem to cost almost as much as the steel Blitz cans and if thats the case then I may as well get the steel ones. I suppose I should shop around a bit and see if I can find the cans cheaply somewhere. I hit the (Canadian) manufacturers website but didnt see anything about direct sales. I know BQ and a few other sources have them. Anyone wanna chime in with a source? Also, floating around on the internet is a FAQ on fuel storage cans that compare the most popular ‘jerry cans’. I’ll try to find it and post the link.
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I just finished cleaning the girlfriends AK and as I marvel at its simplicity all I can think is “The AR is never clean enough and the AK is never dirty enough”.

15 thoughts on “Red Cross ramblings, fuel can fumings, AK/AR comparisons”

  1. When I’ve talked to people who’ve been in the military overseas, they all tell me the same thing – the Red Cross isn’t the help they claim they are, it’s the Salvation Army who comes through for them. That’s who I give to. They don’t lay a Christian thing on people they’re helping, either. Or so I hear. I have no first hand experience with either of them, though.

  2. Red Cross takes a lot of heat when it’s due, but I also have to point out that much of the money they spent was on hotel rooms for displaced. A recent National Geographic (December, I think?) had a nice chart showing the numbers of people displaced in each state, and with the outrageous quantities, I can easily see where all that money goes.

    I haven’t donated to them in a while, but I might still, especially if they keep doing a good job of tackling their ineffective leadership.

  3. my experience

    was to be ignored by all relief agencies back in 1985, usual reason given “you are not in the target area” after a major hurricane. real fun after the eye did pass right over my home. have heard a lot of others over the years wonder why no help came, or where are those inshurance reps, after many diffrent storms. thats why am prepared for the worst, then and now.

    and in the future, what can anybody depend on, outside their own preparations? especially after seeing the wierdness on the katrina aftermath.

  4. RC

    I lived in Biloxi for thirteen years and through several major hurricanes.

    This time my old friend from Biloxi who retired after twenty in the AF evacuated when he was suposed to to my house in Tennessee. Upon his arrival he went to the local RC and was advised that they had no real plan. They ship you down on a bus and from there you are on your own for food and shelter. You report in every morning and someone gives you an assignment for the day. There was no basic strategy in place? They even suggested he travel to Mobile, AL and then sign up there.

    He decided it would be better to go with a church. Many of the churches here were way more organized than the RC. As you pointed once out, the Mormons had a superior plan for their folks.

    As for the Salvation Army, the difference between them and the RC is much of their help is from folks that ARE the victims. Local shelters are run 24/7 by a director, handful of paid staff and people in need of shelter. They know what people need because they are the people in need.

    I will say that I have some issues with the SA. They no longer have an active program for rehabilitation from the perspective of teaching folks repair skills. Used to be that donations of furniture and appliances, etc. were reconditioned by the folks in the program. Now they insist that donations be working, functional items ready for sale. Take a stove down there with an eye or two out? They don’t want it.

    Bottom line? Kit is right – prepare yourself first. Then, prepare to help those who are willing to help themselves or truly cannot help themselves. If the 60 to 70 percent of the people who *could* help themselves and one other did so, who’d need the RC, SA or government in any circumstance?

  5. I’ve got several of the Blitz 6 gallon “self-venting” fuel (and water) cans and I’m on the fence. They’re good for fuel transfer, but suck for storage. I think I’m just going to punt and weld something up.

  6. I avoided the self venting cans for that very reason

    I should google up a picture of the plastic ones I bought. They’re 5+ gallons and have two screw on caps. No yellow vent tab here, no sir, the vent and Filler openings have sccrew on lids. I fill them to the safe fill line, screw the lids down, and store them in a cool, dry area which is shaded so the temp changes are minimal.

  8. One thing I very much want is the convenience of having the fuel spigot attached in some way to the fuel container so that it is unobtrusive but always there.

    Go with your solution #2, but then duct tape the spout to the Blintz can so that they’re always together? (Or some more elegant but similar solution where you rig an external attachment to keep the spout with the can.)

    Regarding the Red Cross, I’m definitely with her thinking on this for the most part, but I’d also suggest ponder the point of diminishing returns on the self-preparation.

    I’m gonna PIDOOMA* these numbers, as an example. You’ve got X amount of dollars to spend, and you’ve prioritized your needs. If you’ve planned well, then you should be able to purchase all of the essentials with 90% of your money. The remaining 10% of your funds would go for stuff that’s great to have, but maybe not so vital. Y’know, that extra set of mags for the AK, another case of MRE’s, whatever.

    What you need to evaluate is “How much value do I get out of the Red Cross being able to feed the jamokes who didn’t prepare?” Every bozo standing in a soup line is a bozo not wandering the streets looking to scrounge a meal from your house. Every person they can stuff into a shelter is one less person who might try to climb into your basement to get warm. Every guy with a full belly is a guy less likely to go looting in your neighborhood.

    You should absolutely, positively, put your own preparation as the top priority, and spend most of the money for that. However, do consider that donating to a disaster relief has a certain amount of positive benefit for you. Your preparation makes sure you’re not standing in the soup line…the disaster relief org makes sure there is a soup line for the bozos to stand in, and thus you don’t have to deal with them.

    Does this make any sense at all?

    *PIDOOMA = Pull It Directly Out Of My @$$

  9. I hate to sound like a jerk, but to be honest, as I’ve realized the expense of preparedness, I’m not giving much to anybody. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blowing scads of cash on expensive pre-made-all-singing -all-dancing kits. I’m substituting lower priced, non-name-brand gear, mil-surp and the like whenever I can. But even with all that, preparedness eats pretty much all my disposalable income. It won’t always be that way of course, and as the years go by I’ll reach a point where most of the expense is the occasional replacement of consumables/perishables.

    But at the moment, if the cylons/zombies/aliens/xenomorphs/terminators/giantundergroundworms attack, well…let’s just say I’ll have my work cut out for me.

  10. Re: Logged in now and a picture of something close

    That’s the type we used to be able to get in CA before they decided we were too stupid to be able to use them correctly and needed to be forced to use “non-spill” spouts.

    The problem with them is that they leak if you store the spout inside the cap and tighten the vent cap, as the commander points out. I end up storing the spout separately, which means the gasketing doesn’t work the way it was designed to and it leaks when I transport it in the back of the truck coming back from the gas station. So they’re only a C+ for me. Even so, I’ll keep all the ones I have because they’re still far better than the new CA style.

    I’m still looking for a way to get non-CA Jerry cans. I may have to pick some up in Montana the next time I’m there.

  11. Re: Logged in now and a picture of something close

    you’re right and I misread. I assumed because it was HARD to find the kind I’m using and the self venting kind were EVERYWHERE that those were what the commander was talking about. going back and re-reading his original post, I see my mistake. Now my hands smell slightly of gas since IU went out and took all the spouts out of the cans and attached them using some twine to the handles. not a perfect fix but good enough for now.

  13. Re: Logged in now and a picture of something close

    I’ll be in Montana in June, so I can just pick some up and bring them back with me.

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