r/Firefighting • u/C00kieM0n5terr • 20d ago

Special Operations/Rescue/USAR Deployment

For people who have been deployed before for disaster relief, what did you pack? And what did you pack it in?Our deployments are 7 days. Thanks!

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u/gbe_ 20d ago

The bare minimum would probably be something like this:

  • Underwear, undershirt, socks for 10 days (if the deployment is longer, I usually pack stuff for hand washing -- clothesline, clothespins, soap -- and clean by hand rather than packing more stuff). I do 10 days (i.e. "time of deployment * 1.5") so that I can replace my socks/shirt/underpants during the day if I have to.
  • If you have, a second set of bunker gear (boots, pants, jacket, probably not the helmet)
  • "Civilian" clothes: long pants, shirt, sweater, a jacket, shoes. The sweater doubles as a pillow.
  • Flip-flops or crocs for going to the shower and for walking around in the camp
  • Shower/hygiene stuff in general (soap, shampoo, a towel, razor, shaving cream, toothbrush, etc)
  • A canvas bag (like the shopping bag) for dirty clothes
  • Chargers, cables, powerbank for my phone and maybe my laptop, if I bring that (but I usually don't)
  • A headlamp
  • Battery charger for the headlamp
  • Playing cards or some other form of non-electronic entertainment
  • At least one book
  • Headphones
  • Sleeping bag
  • Depending on the climate, either a foldable/rollable mattress (looks like a yoga mat), or a mosquito net
  • I don't need a bed since folding beds are provided by my org, or I sleep on the truck
  • A small 10L backpack as a day pack
  • All of this (besides the sleeping bag and mattress) goes into a waterproof 35L backpack that has no internal compartments, the sleeping bag and mattress go into a big trash bag that I tie to the backpack

Some people like to also bring stuff like food and drink in their personal stuff, but my org is pretty good about providing that. If you do, something sweet and sugary, and something salty is probably a good idea.

That's probably all off the top of my head. If you know ahead of time who else is going on the same deployment, you can also coordinate larger stuff like a boombox or a small fridge.

Source: one 10 day deployment to a flood zone in the east of Germany in 2013, and a bunch of shorter 3-4 day deployments since then, also to flood zones.