PROTECTING YOU and YOUR FAMILY, YOUR HOME and YOUR BUSINESS Part 2
GULF SHORES Ala.
By Rick McCann
BlueRAMMedia.com
March 26, 2025
This is part two of a four-part series on protecting yourself, your family, your home, and your business.
In part one, we discussed the importance of six areas for a person to be ready, prepared and responsive in protecting themselves, their family, home or business and in part two I’m adding an additional component that is also imperative to your readiness and that is information and training.
We all know that owning a vehicle means keeping it in good repair so that the car operates at its peak performance level.
People, are also built the same way, though they frequently overlook that important aspect of their life.
Education, training and information are a huge part of personal safety and no different than any other form of preparedness.
Information and education can come from a variety of places, though I caution you on understanding the difference between what you receive on social media including YouTube or from neighbors or a self-professed “subject expert” as opposed to going through a professional course that is taught by a certified instructor.
However, some information relayed on social media is good for “informative” community happenings such as several posts that I recently spotted last week which included a report of a stolen vehicle, coyotes in the neighborhood, and gunfire in the night. All of this was good “general information” and helps a person to stay informed on what’s happening in their community.
Social media, including those from local law enforcement and fire departments, city, county and state sites and local news are good sources of local information that helps a person to stay informed on what is happening, what did happen, or what to be aware of and other general information.
Local government social media pages often posts meetings, road construction, upcoming events and other updates of what’s happening in your community while police social media platforms often report on missing persons, “Be On The Lookouts”, road closures and other useful information.
Since Alabama no longer requires a person to be issued a concealed firearms permit, and there is no training requirement either, it seems that there are more people now carrying firearms. However, that should not prevent a person from taking a firearms course, practice regularly at a gun range, or take other firearm courses that would help a person to be more proficient with their weapon and to understand the laws surrounding the use of lethal force, defending yourself or another and the consequences of using unnecessary and unlawful force.
You can never train too much or be overprepared!
In Part One we talked about these six words that you will see appear often in this series:
Vigilance
Sensitivity
Size-Up
Measured
Mental Acuity
Response
Vigilance, just means always knowing what’s happening around you, being aware and Sensitivity to your body, your mind and physical being which are always sending you signals, alerts to the changes and possible dangers around you.
“Size-Up” is another piece of your overall safety and response preparedness in today’s world.
For firefighters, law enforcement and medical first responders, it’s something that is instilled in their training and their mindset from their first day on the job until their final day. Most even carry it over into their retirement days as well.
Size-Up is nothing more than standing back a second or two and taking a visual picture of what’s happening around you to determine safety hazards, dangers posed by people that might want to hurt you, or to determine if more resources or help is needed for whatever is occurring.
Firefighters look to see if more manpower and equipment is need to extinguish the fire, police look to see what’s happening, is there gunfire, people fighting or other dangers that need to be mitigated so that officers aren’t hurt and medical responders size-up the scene for dangers of hazards and to assess if more medical resources are needed to respond to the scene.
Running head long into a scene, even one that seems quiet or under control, can quickly injure or kill a responder because of not being aware of the hidden dangers that was happening unbeknown to the police officer, firefighter or medic.
Civilians can use this same simple and quick method to stay safe as well.
Slow yourself down before stepping out of the protection of your vehicle when arriving at your destination. With your vehicle doors locked, take a quick second to look around at your surroundings. Are people loitering in front of the store, drinking alcohol in the parking lot, or do you hear yelling or crying or screaming? Do you see a physical altercation, someone with a gun or maybe it seems eerily quiet.
When you arrive at home, the same process should be done. “Scene-Size-Up” prevents injuries and saves lives.
Instead of parking your car and running into the house, look around and take a second to process what you’re seeing. Is there an open door that was closed when you left, or broken glass on the ground, an item that’s out of place or something missing?
Recently a couple arrived home from work and never noticed that their patio furniture was missing from their yard for several days. Their routine during the week was work, dinner, TV and bedtime. Patio furniture just wasn’t on their list of things to use or check on during the work week and that’s how most of our lives are in this busy world.
For your own personal safety, learn to take a few seconds to know and understand your surroundings. Allow yourself to receive those messages that our body sends us constantly throughout the day and don’t ignore what your gut feels or the hair standing up on the back of your neck. They are real signs of something not being right, or dangers nearby.
Allow yourself to slow down, and size up your surroundings.
Know what’s happening around you through trusted sources such as news and governmental social media platforms, law enforcement social media pages, and other credible sources.
Educate, train, and be prepared for anything that could happen.
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