05 Mar Emergency Cooking Without Utilities

Posted at 01:53h in R&R Documents by

 

  Emergency Cooking Without Utilities

When your Utilities are out for more than 4, 8, or 12 hours or more:

 

REMEMBER: You need to use your most perishable food items first.

 

Refrigerator

  1. Evaluate the length of time you will be w/o utilities. What emergency just happened?
  2. Keep the door closed as much as possible.
  3. Before opening door, list items you are going to take out for a meal, be quick in removal.
  4. Throw out any food that is suspect of being spoiled; have them on your list before opening.
  5. When the fridge is empty or power is restored, clean and disinfect.

 

Freezer

 

  1. Evaluate the length of time you will be w/o utilities. What emergency just happened?
  2. Keep door or lid closed as much as possible.
  3. Most freezers will keep food for at least 3 days if kept closed.  Chest freezers 3 or more.
  4. Take blankets or Water heater wraps and wrap freezer to help keep the cold inside.
  5. Remember, meats with ice crystals in their centers are still safe.
  6. Once meat has thawed it must be immediately cooked and eaten, canned, cut into strips and dried, and or made into jerky.

 

Note: If you have a Generator, place it outside chained to a support post or vehicle to deter theft. Run a 12 gauge power cord into the gar or house.  Attach a 3 way adapter on the end and run one 14 gauge cord to the freezer if it is in the gar, and another cord into the house to the refer.  This all depends upon the nature of your emergency.

Do not plug in a generator into your electrical panel w/o a Gen Tran Switch.  You could back feed power back down the lines and hurt or kill a utility worker trying to restore power to your home.

 

COOKING INSIDE

 

  1. Always cook in well ventilated areas
  2. If gas is still flowing to your home and home is undamaged, you can light the range burners with matches or lighters if power is out.
  3. Never use BBQ grills or camp stoves indoors.
  4. Always be aware of carbon monoxide dangers with any ignition source.
  5. Never use a gas cook-top for providing heat in the home due to carbon monoxide.

 

COOKING OUTSIDE

 

  1. Be sure to have a plan and means for putting the fire out before you light it.
  2. If self-contained such as a camp stove be sure of ventilation and other combustibles close by.
  3. If open fire, plan ahead now to have some cottage stone blocks set up for an outside fire pit. It will be great now for summer smores, but could make life less stressful in an emergency.

 

INDOOR EMERGENCY COOKING EQUIPMENT

 

  1. Emergency Candles, Use for cooking and light.
  2. Sterno / Canned Fuel,  An easy method of cooking for:
    1. 72 Hour Emergency Kit meals.
    2. Cooking small amounts of food.
    3. Boiling small amounts of water for dehydrated or freeze dried foods.
    4. Easy to light with a match and extinguish by placing lid back on can.
    5. Fireplace/Wood Stove
      1. Has the added benefit of heating home as well as cooking.
      2. Keep a covered supply of wood for fuel.
      3. Be sure to have a fire extinguisher handy.
      4. Have a stack thermometer on chimney 6 inches above top. Max temp for safe operation is 400 Degrees.
      5. Be sure to clean the chimney every 2 years if burning dry wood, or every year if you have wet or green wood to burn.

 

Note: If pouched food such as MREs, no cooking is required.  Canned foods can be eaten w/o cooking.  Most dried food need to be reconstituted and cooked.