Shelters 102: avoiding deathtraps

[Faran Brigo]

Invariably, I know I'll see someone come in here and talk about a GOOD place to stay, and that will lower my faith in humanity a little bit more, but I digress.

This is about places that might sound great but would actually be very risky or inconvenient. I'm talking about places you go to, if you have to make it yourself it doesn't count. In other words barricading, boarding up and light fortifications of the sort are ok, building a fortress out of your little white picket in the suburbs is not.

I'm going to throw in a couple of obvious ones and a couple of controversial ones to get the ball rolling:

Walmart, police station, hospital, railroad station.

[jim96sc2]

I'd say it is anywhere that I could not sustain myself indefinitely. So apartment buildings, ships, mountaintops, and the artic would pretty much be out of the question.

[Umbrela]

Originally Posted by Faran Brigo

Invariably, I know I'll see someone come in here and talk about a GOOD place to stay, and that will lower my faith in humanity a little bit more, but I digress.

This is about places that might sound great but would actually be very risky or inconvenient. I'm talking about places you go to, if you have to make it yourself it doesn't count. In other words barricading, boarding up and light fortifications of the sort are ok, building a fortress out of your little white picket in the suburbs is not.

I'm going to throw in a couple of obvious ones and a couple of controversial ones to get the ball rolling:

Walmart, police station, hospital, railroad station.

I understand the first three, but I would never have even thought of holing up at a railroad station.

[mattifikation]

I hear "abandoned oil rig" pop up a lot, thanks to that stupid book that came out. I think that would be a terrible idea. Constant exposure to salt water, hurricanes, limited place for food and fuel storage, and no way to escape if you get attacked by pirates. Or zombie pirates.

Oil Rig, is a no go!

[Victor Clark]

I think that the worst place to hold up would be where zombies are grown to remember and wander to: the local shopping mall. For one thing, malls have so many entrances, exits and windows, that zombies could sneak in one way without anyone inside knowing. Also, since the mall has become a big monument in zombie pop culture, many people in a zombie outbreak would run down to their mall, thinking it's a safe haven. Because of this, malls all over America would have hundreds, or even thousands of survivors (and probably more than a few infected) flooding and breaking into the shopping centers, taking all thay could get and killing each other for what they don't have and/or need. And if there are infected people among the crowds of disoriented and panicing survivors, than soon the malls will be completely filled with undead inside and out, just beacuse of poor education and no common sense.

[Umbrela]

Malls, oil rigs, police stations, hospitals, ands stores are all essential concrete coffins. Most of these have been featured in media, with horrible results.

[mattifikation]

Let's not forget military bases: A place to go to be kept in close confinement with other people, be shot if you're bleeding, and have your weapons confiscated regardless.

Same deal for any "refugee center" that might be set up.

[Umbrela]

Office buildings, despite what was said in the book, are another bad idea. Many are located in downtown areas, so getting into one could be impossible.

[Faran Brigo]

I agree with the mall but disagree with the oil rig. I'm not saying it's a good idea but it's a dangerous place for different reasons. Most of them are designed to be relatively self sufficient and fairly sturdy when it comes to exposure to the elements, for economic reasons.

Space? not enough space for food? are you kidding me? are we talking about the same rigs that have multiple decks with separate crew quarters, extraction and common areas? You could probably grow food there if you brought enough soil along, oil rigs are equipped with desalinizers, and as for fuel storage, most of them are sitting on top of oil and natural gas deposits... Oil's useless without refining but gas isn't. I don't think working the controls is simple though.

The real problem with oil rigs is that for one, they're extraction platforms for combustibles, and eventually when (and this is not a matter of "if" but rather "when") enough damage has been sustained to the systems, the whole thing might leak gas or oil and the tiniest spark will make it go up in flames.

[Umbrela]

Originally Posted by Faran Brigo

I agree with the mall but disagree with the oil rig. I'm not saying it's a good idea but it's a dangerous place for different reasons. Most of them are designed to be relatively self sufficient and fairly sturdy when it comes to exposure to the elements, for economic reasons.

Space? not enough space for food? are you kidding me? are we talking about the same rigs that have multiple decks with separate crew quarters, extraction and common areas? You could probably grow food there if you brought enough soil along, oil rigs are equipped with desalinizers, and as for fuel storage, most of them are sitting on top of oil and natural gas deposits... Oil's useless without refining but gas isn't. I don't think working the controls is simple though.

The real problem with oil rigs is that for one, they're extraction platforms for combustibles, and eventually when (and this is not a matter of "if" but rather "when") enough damage has been sustained to the systems, the whole thing might leak gas or oil and the tiniest spark will make it go up in flames.

The imminent gas leak alone should be more than enough reason to stay away.

[Faran Brigo]

Key difference there is that an oil rig actually could make a good place to hole up during the early stages of the outbreak, but it's not a long term solution. More like a place to run to until the mainland is less panic stricken, either because the zeds or the survivors won.

[Dave Of The Dead]

Seriously, If you're worried about a gas leak on an oil rig, you should be more worried about a gas leak inside of your own house!

The worst place I think you can go would be the basement of any building. Where are you going to go when a few zombies come stumbling down the stairs?

[Faran Brigo]

My own house's gas supply is a 35kg tank outside, not thousands of cubic feet and piping inside.

I'm not sure which is worse, a basement or a walmart, and I'm guessing walmart. While the basement's got no exits, the wallmart will probably be wall to wall with infected and reanimated.

[Umbrela]

Originally Posted by Faran Brigo

My own house's gas supply is a 35kg tank outside, not thousands of cubic feet and piping inside.

I'm not sure which is worse, a basement or a walmart, and I'm guessing walmart. While the basement's got no exits, the wallmart will probably be wall to wall with infected and reanimated.

And the Wal-Mart's numerous exits make it far more difficult to defend.

[Dave Of The Dead]

I think one of the more difficult question is: What would you rather do, spend all your time and efforts barricading your exits, leaving yourself open to attack, OR Spend all your time and efforts defending the exits from the central point, with the doors shut and locked?