Ten Tips For Surviving An Explosion

On April 15, 2013, Americans were shocked to hear of two likely-terrorist blasts near the finish line at the Boston Marathon. And on April 17, 2013, Americans saw the headlines about the grain elevator explosion in the tiny town of West, Texas, after a fire at a fertilizer factory set off an explosion in grain dust in a sorghum silo.

Although that's old news by now, you never know when the next disaster will happen, and when you might be caught in an explosion. Should it happen near you, you're not necessarily doomed. With the right tips, surviving a blast becomes more likely.

The Boston attacks resulted in three deaths. The Texas grain silo explosion resulted in an indeterminate number of deaths, and massive destruction throughout a small town. Fortunately for most us, we'll never be anywhere near a concussive blast. But what can you do to increase the chances of you and your loved ones' coming out alive and whole if you are?

There is nothing most of us can do to prevent terrorist attacks or to stop explosions and fires, but there are things all of us can do to increase our personal safety. In this article, we will take a look at five ways to avoid being caught in an explosion, terrorist or otherwise, and five things to do in the highly unlikely, but potentially life-changing or life-ending, event that you are.

1. Watch unfolding tragedies on TV, not in person.

One of the more famous home videos of the West, Texas fertilizer plant and grain silo explosion was taken by a father and son sitting in a pickup truck about 1-1/2 miles (2500 meters) from the blazing fertilizer plant fire, at what certainly appeared to be a safe distance. However, a smaller explosion of a fertilizer tank led to a huge explosion in a grain silo, and a shock wave traveling faster than the speed of sound left the father and son engulfed in smoke and soot and fleeing for their lives. It just isn't worth the risk to see fires and explosions first hand. There is simply no way to know what a safe distance is and therefore, the safest distance is as far away as possible.

2. When you see an unattended backpack or package, steer clear and call the police.

The explosive devices at the Boston Marathon finish line were detonated from backpacks left on the ground in the middle of the crowd. For obvious reasons, it was hard to find garbage bins anywhere in the London Underground when the IRA was active, and anywhere in public spaces in Israel to this very day. Bins are a great place to insert explosives, and when they're not available, backpacks are the next best bet.

If you see someone leave a bag, a purse, a backpack, or a package unattended in a public place, chances are it's just a matter of their being forgetful. But let the authorities find out for sure, and you might just prevent the next big disaster.

3. When you witness one explosion, expect another.

At the Boston Marathon, a second explosive device went off just seconds after the first, in the direction in which many people were trying to escape. If you witness the explosion of a small bomb, be aware that another bomb may be detonated shortly afterwards. Make your priority to get away from areas where you would be exposed to flying glass or metal shrapnel. Go into the street rather than along the sides of buildings lined with plate glass windows, if traffic permits.

Don't take cover in alleys or doorways. Small areas can amplify the effects of a blast. You are seven times more likely to die of concussion injuries, a study of bombing attacks in Israel found, inside a closed space than out in the open.

4. Don't take time to Tweet.

When you are in the vicinity of a blast, your priority has to be escape or helping attend the injured, not Tweeting the event to all your friends. Chances are that the news won't reach friends or family for minutes or hours, anyway, so you can always tell them you are OK later, assuming you made safety your priority, not information.

5. Communicate by text message, not by telephone.

Cell phone networks are quickly overwhelmed with calls during catastrophes. Text messages reduce the load on the system and allow more urgent communications to go through. And do we have to tell you that using a pay phone in a blast zone is not a good idea?

Every family should have someone any member of the family could contact to relay messages when communications become difficult. A family friend, a member of the extended family, a minister, or even a building manager can serve as a communicator of vital messages when cell phone service and ground transportation are disrupted.

Five Things To Do If You Are Caught In A Blast

It's a lot better to avoid trouble, but that's not always possible. If despite your best efforts, you get caught in the immediate vicinity of an explosion, here are five things you can do to minimize injury.

1. Duck, roll, and cover.

Don't look at that fireball headed your way. Make sure you are down on the ground, preferably in a gutter or a ditch, rolled away from the blast, and covered as best you can before the blast hits.

It's the shock wave from a bomb that causes the greatest number of injuries, not just the changes in air pressure that can take your breath away and make you temporarily deaf.

2. Take a deep breath before the blast hits, and let it out slowly.

There are a number of reasons it is a good idea to take a deep breath, as deep as you can make it, before a bomb blast hits (even though it may be hard to remember to take it and harder still to hold your breath until after the blast has passed). A major cause of death in bombings is lung injury. If you are breathing out when the blast hits, you won't be breathing in dust, broken glass, pulverized metal fragments, asbestos, and toxins. If you breathing out slowly, your heart rate will diminish, and you will have more control over your reflexes and you will be able to think more clearly. And if you maintain air pressure in your throat, your ears are less likely to suffer percussion damage from the blast.

Assuming your injuries from the blast itself appear to be minimal, be sure to seek emergency care for yourself and especially for your children who may have been at the blast site even if the "only" problem is temporary hearing loss. There is a window of just a few hours to a few days in which acute trauma to the eardrum can be treated to prevent long-term hearing loss, and people who have ear injuries tend usually to have concurrent lung injuries that may not be immediately evident.

3. Cover your mouth with a handkerchief or Kleenex as you walk away from the area.

Fine particles in the air can do lasting damage to your lungs, and they may even be poisonous. Walking, rather than running, minimizes the amount of particulate matter you will breathe in as you head to safety. Don't return to the area of a bomb blast unless you absolutely must unless you have breathing protection in the form of a face mask or respirator.

4. Keep your head down and your hands in front of you.

Most non-fatal injuries in bomb blasts occur in the head and hands. Larger pieces of shrapnel and shards may get you no matter what, but simply bending your head down and keeping your hands and arms in front of you as you flee the scene will minimize your chances of serious injury.

5. Tend to your own family first.

Americans tend to behave bravely and altruistically in situations like the Boston Marathon terrorist attack and the West, Texas blasts. Many people risk their lives to help total strangers in crises of this nature. But if you are at an event with your own children or elders, and you aren't present in an official capacity, take care of your own first. You'll free up a first responder for another person in need, and you'll cement your bonds in your family for the rest of your lives.