If the alarm goes off at 2 a.m. what are your kids going to do? If the kids sleep near your bedroom, do they know how to keep safe? Is there any difference between a fire alarm and a burglar alarm to a ten year old at two in the morning? Will they come wandering our of their rooms half asleep wondering about all the racket? Think ahead. Teach.
Your prime responsibility is your family. Nothing else matters. The protection of the defenseless is the only valid reason anyone has to put himself or herself in harm’s way. Not possessions, for sure. Lives. If you have children, they must be protected. Have a plan. Have a back-up plan. Have a back-up back-up plan. Plans fail. All situations are unique, and they are always dynamic. It could be a fire or a break-in. Be prepared to modify or alter your plan accordingly.
Your death won’t help anyone, and most of us are not qualified to complete a tactical sweep of a building, not matter how many books or magazines we read, or how many videos we watch, or what some shooting coach tells you. I don’t understand why dressing in tactical black or fatigues makes certain folks think they are SWAT members. That’s like putting a racing stripe on a VW Beetle. It’s still a Beetle.
If it is just you and your spouse, or you alone, here’s the plan. Siege mentality. Have a defensive position you can establish. Think cover and concealment. Limit exposure. In my home, it’s a walk-in closet. Inside the closet is an ADM biometric safe housing a .40 S&W. I’d go bigger, but that is the most the Top Sergeant can handle, and after 39 years of her putting up with yours truly, she generally gets her way.
The drill is as follows…alarm, grab the wireless phone, dial 911, get in closet, leave door ajar. Through the opening at the seam, I can see the bathroom dressing mirror, and from there, the entrance to the Master Bedroom. The dead line is the bathroom. If an intruder crosses that, I go “weapons-free”. From that point on, I consciously decide I have the necessity to shoot if it is required, not to kill the intruder, but to keep the intruder from killing me.
