Time to Brighten Up Your Flashlight Game:

Flashlight, flash bright,
first flashlight I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I - wait,
that’s how it goes, right?

Flashlights are those little things most people forget about when they prepare for the worst.

Of course, first aid kits are crazy-important, and we can’t forget food and water, or the safety tools that help us wade through all the madness that may come at us. For whatever reason, though, flashlights are often forgotten. Perhaps it’s because when we’re in readiness mode, it’s usually in the happy light of day?

The funny thing about big natural events is that we really can’t predict the damage they might do to our cities - and our homes - or for how long, or at what time of day. They’re tricky things, and they can become seriously icky things when we aren’t prepared for them.

When a severe winter storm takes out power lines, a blistering heat wave overloads the city’s power grid, or a tornado, hurricane, or earthquake destroys vital infrastructure, the unknown is amplified. We can be stuck in the dark for hours, days, or even weeks with our families.

REMEMBER: Candles are Lady-and-The-Tramp cute, but they’re dangerous

Thousands of home fires are started every year from candle fires, often starting in bedrooms. This results in millions of dollars in damages and, unfortunately, loss of life too. That’s just not a risk we want to add on top of the risks associated with whatever natural hazards we might be dealing with.

TIP: Leave the candles, Take the batteries

Unless your flashlight is solar-powered or a crank-up (which we wholeheartedly recommend), then make sure you’ve got ample batteries stored with each of your flashlights. Remember, outages can last for weeks! Make sure you’ve got flashlights and electric lanterns - and batteries if needed - stored in every room of your home, ideally one for every member of your family.