We Survive It

In emergency situations, one of the biggest problems is to focus on what matters most. That’s why in the field of emergency medicine, we use acronyms and steps like the “ABC’s” to help us control panic and remember what we should do first, then second, etc…

I was an EMT and WEMT and I taught First Responders for years. It was always interesting to see how people reacted in emergency situations. And over the years, I grew to really love acronyms because of how they helped people focus when the chips were down.

Well survival is no different, we still need to control panic and prioritize our efforts. This is where the “Rule of 3′s” comes in.

The Rule of 3′s simply stated is you have:

3 minutes without AIR

3 hours without SHELTER

3 days without WATER

3 weeks without FOOD

So what does all this mean? It tells us where our priorities should be in a survival situation.

First, we should focus on all life threatening conditions making sure we’ll still be breathing in the near future. Next, we should worry about shelter because more people die of exposure than any other incident in the outdoors. Next is water. And then finally food, which is last, not first. You would be surprised at how long a human can go without food (we’re a little spoiled in modern society in the area of food).

Search and rescue statistics show most people are rescued within 72 hours, so if you handle the first 2 priorities, you’re most likely going to make it.

If things do go longer, you know what’s next — water. And finally, last but not least, food. The “Rule of 3′s” (just like the “ABC’s”) is a tool to help you control panic and remember in any survival situation what your steps are and what matters most.

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