Would you relinquish your light in an emergency?

There is an emergency. It doesn't matter what kind. It is dark and you are the only one with a working light. You do not know when/if help will come.

What will you do and why?

-LT

I can't think of very many emergencies where I wouldn't be in charge and thus be comandeering what I needed..

Interesting, you were able to see this post before I finished the poll portion.

As far as being in charge, there's always someone higher in the pecking order.

-LT

That's MY flashlight, Punk!!!

Umm...anyway, my philosophy is similar to that of the military regarding individual first aid equipment. The equipment on your person (your individual first aid dressing) is for someone else to use on YOU. If you're a medic, of course, you will have additional supplies to help others, but the field dressing on your LCE is for use on you.

My gear is mine. I may choose to have cheap spares to provide to others in an emergency (and I do), but if I've given those out to others already and am only left with my own...oh well. It will not be given to someone else.

JM-99

I was going to post a reply saying it would depend, but thinking about how to write the reply, i realised i would only give other people spares i had and help them with the equipment i have, using it myself.

So i suppose ill bit the bullet and admit it, i would NEVER give someone my primary equipment in an emergancy situation, unless! my spouse was there and needed it more than i did, i would relinquish it for her survival only. I have best friends i love to bits, but when i came down to it, i would help them best i could with all my strength, but not relinquish it.

Craig.

I dunno, I mean, in an *emergency* I'm generally working with fire&ems anyway, so we'd ALL have lights. If somebody else's light failed, they're going to go back to ic and get another one or fix it or something, not take mine..

No, in an emergency situation, you are equally affected as anyone else within it. Assisting others ends when it only serves in your detriment.
In an emergency, we are all equals. A politician, priest, elder, manager, or anyone less prepared for the emergency has no authority over you. You are now the rescuer, not the rescuee.

Anyone in emergency services, will be prepared with their equipment, and they know how to best use their equipment.
Being that it is MY equipment, I would know best how to utilize it than a stranger.
We are advised to be prepared for an emergency with provisions and essential survival equipment. To relinquish our equipment would be no better than being unprepared.

WNG said:

To relinquish our equipment would be no better than being unprepared.

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Couldnt aggree with that more!

Craig.

People in command will have the equipment they need to quickly assess a situation. If they need more stuff, they can call in for back up. A policeman isn't going to commandeer your gun to catch someone else. Will any of you ever say "Here officer, use my gun". The fire dept says: "Quick, get your garden hose so we can put out your house fire". My stuff is my stuff !!! Get your own stuff.

WNG said:

Being that it is MY equipment, I would know best how to utilize it than a stranger.

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How true. A tool is most useful when used by one who truly understands its full potential. Imagine giving an ORB RAW to someone who uses high mode unnecessarily and complains about the poor runtime when the battery runs out or the amount of heat the light produces. You can explain all you want but to an uninitiated, some information tends to be missed out.

Unless I was unconscious or disabled in an emergency, I don't see any reason to relinquish what I have to survive on. Besides, the average person would find my EDC (U60 xrgt) useless as the force setting is set to about 0.2 lumens.

From my cold, dead hands...

ACMarina said:

I can't think of very many emergencies where I wouldn't be in charge and thus be comandeering what I needed..

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Huzzah! Took the words right out of my mouth.

Generally speaking I would not give up my light(s),
Since I usually have two lights on me, if I knew the person they could have my Mediterranean 2AA. I can make do with my FF3 on low to get me out of the situation. If there are injuries, I would lend a doctor my light and if did not give it back... he would need a hospital stay.
I have found during the times of sudden outages, everyone tends to gravitate towards me since I have the light so should have the smarts to get out of the situation.

No.

If I'm away from home I'd use dim NV compatible lights to get home. Two of my three EDCs are NV compatible and one may be run hideously low, even by my standards.

Once home, I'd make the house look like it's boarded up from the outside. I'd black out my windows with 6 mil black plastic and switch to a discipline of using only night vision compatible lights after dark. What can't be seen can't be confiscated. Those who can't be seen can't be shot. We did this for six weeks just last year.

In most serious disasters/emergencies there will be two distinct threats. The first threat is the event that precipitates the emergency. The second threat is going to be people from many groups of potential troublemakers including looters and city officials. Give them what they want to see -- an empty house. Most people and government entities are totally unprepared for emergencies and it is simple to fool them by giving them what they want and expect to see. They're clueless in their planning and they're panicked and disorganized in their response. If you provide anything that looks more low key than the freaked out masses around you, chances are that they'll never dream that you're still home.

I would *loan* the light to a policeman/fireman if he requests for it and assures us he has some plan or needs to check the escape route or something to that effect; to help us all.

If there are no proper authorities around but only a take-charge guy, he can go fly-kite (a local slang). If he's such a wiseass anywayz, why didn't he EDC a light... haha I would try my best to use the light to everyone's benefit.

I try never to say never. It would be extremely unusualk circumstances for me to do so, but I cannot say I would never give one of my, likely not my only, lights to someone who needed it to save another life or something.

Circumstances always dictate my responses.

ACMarina said:

I can't think of very many emergencies where I wouldn't be in charge and thus be comandeering what I needed..

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What if the emergency included your incapacity to help yourself or take charge of the situation? (You're trapped by a boulder/car/wall of a house on your leg and they need to see the other side of the wall to free you...)

There are emergency situations where I could see myself giving up use of my light - even if it was my only one, but the choice would be mine and entirely dependant on circumstance and the ability of the person/people who I pass the torch to. I don't believe I am the only person who could make the best use of my light in all situations, I haven't been trained for any eventuality, even if I do know how to work the torch to it's best limits. I'm sure I could make the best decision on this at the time, I wouldn't want to hinder my own rescue or cause the unnecessary deaths/injuries of others.

Obviously LEO or emergency workers may have better training.

...But it would be a BIG decision...leaving me in darkness...


...I actually quite like the dark!...

If I had spares, I'd give all but one up and keep it and my primary for the situation. I believe that I'd use my light to lead the way, away from danger, if possible. If the situation doesn't lend itself to leading a group away from danger, then it's every person for himself/herself and my light is staying with me.

Catch me if you can................