By Martin Gartenberg
(Certified Personal Home Protection Instructor)
Unfortunately, in these days and times we all must consider knowing what to do and what not to do in an emergency situation. Since most are not properly trained the following is designed to make you more aware of your surroundings and situations.
It is crucial to always know exactly what your surroundings are. If you walk out in the street you should first scan your immediate area. For instance, are there persons you do not recognize? What are they doing? If something does not look as it should, then it probably isn’t. You can’t be paranoid about everything but you should always be aware. There are four levels of awareness:
First, there is unaware. That is when you come home and do not pay attention to any of your surroundings.
Second, there is being aware of your surroundings. You know who is in the street or several houses from your own. You observe cars that do not belong or people who are not familiar.
Third, is alert when your door is unlocked or broken or if you open your door and see things scattered all over the floor.
The fourth, and most dangerous situation is alarm, when you’re in your home and actually confront an intruder. Hopefully, it will never come to this alarm situation, but at least you are aware of the four types of situations.
Following are the steps that you can take to avoid the perils of these situations:
You must always be aware of your surroundings and have a family contingency plan for these situations. For example, if you must leave your home because of an impending threat,you have to know where you should go to avoid any confrontation with an intruder. You should never enter your home if an intruder is present but meet up at your contingency destination.
You should also have a cell phone handy and immediately call 911. Once the operator gets on you must remain calm and clearly state the situation. Give your name, address and any other pertinent information. Did you see any weapons or is the intruder still in your home? If you are forced to confront an intruder, always remember to let them take anything that they want because it is not worth your life. If they are armed try to stay calm and not argue. They may be shouting, cursing and threatening so just do exactly what they say. If you know for sure that your life is in imminent danger and there is no way out, don’t be a hero.
Don’t try to grab their weapon, but at the same time, if you have the opportunity to escape then do so even if there are other family members still there. Remember, intruders want to get in and out as soon as possible, and if someone has escaped others will be informed and call 911. I know that in certain circumstances if you are threatened with bodily harm you have the legal right under the Florida Castle Doctrine to use bodily force against intruders. I never recommend that you do anything that would put your life in danger. In order to fully understand the use of firearms, you should consider taking courses and know exactly what you should do, and what you should not do.
Remember, these are only the basics of personal protection in the home and there is so much more that you can learn. Most importantly, common sense plays a major part so use your head in any of these four situations. Try to remember that you may already have the more dangerous weapon if you use it correctly... YOUR BRAIN.
Always remember. Unaware. Aware. Alert and Alarm.
