Wildfire kit
Smoke, ember, fast-moving fronts, possible evacuation orders. A calm, sourced kit for households in fire-prone European regions.
Wildfire risk in Europe is climbing faster than households are adapting. The threat is not just flames — it is smoke and embers spreading far beyond the visible fire, and the window between "warning" and "evacuate now" can be under thirty minutes. The kit below addresses both halves: what stays at home for shelter-in-place with smoke, and what leaves with you.
Why this kit, not a generic 72-hour list
A wildfire kit looks different for a house on a wooded urban edge than for a coastal flat where the risk is air quality only. The wizard asks about your dwelling type, surroundings, and whether anyone in the household has respiratory conditions, then prioritises items accordingly. Generic wildfire lists assume everyone is in the evacuation zone; most are not.
What this kit usually contains
A representative slice of the kit a typical European household receives for this scenario. Quantities are tuned to your household and climate when you run the personaliser. Estimated total cost for the items below: €277.
| Item | Quantity | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-packed evacuation bag (per adult)critical A 25-35 litre backpack pre-packed and labelled by the door. Target weight: <=12 kg. |
adults bags | €60 |
| Drinking water reservecritical Sealed potable water in cool, dark storage. Split across multiple containers — if one spoils, the rest survives. |
(adults + childrenCount) * 2 * days L | €12 |
| Shelf-stable no-cook food (3 days)critical Nuts, bars, tinned fish, peanut butter, dried fruit. Food that needs no heat, no fridge, and almost no prep. |
(adults * 2000 + childrenCount * 1500) * days kcal | €35 |
| Manual can openercritical A simple, reliable can opener that does not need power. Keep one in the kitchen and one in the evac bag. |
2 units | €6 |
| Basic first-aid kitcritical Adhesive dressings, sterile gauze, tape, gloves, scissors, tweezers, antiseptic, paracetamol/ibuprofen, ORS sachets. |
1 kit | €25 |
| Headlamp + spare batteriescritical A hands-free LED headlamp per person, plus enough spare batteries for one full set. |
adults + childrenCount units | €18 |
| Battery / hand-crank radiocritical A small radio that works without mains power and receives AM/FM and (where available) NOAA/EBU emergency bands. |
1 unit | €30 |
| Pet carrier(s) A correctly sized airline-approved carrier per cat and a fold-flat carrier or harness+lead per dog. Stored open and accessible. |
cats + dogs units | €40 |
| Paper map of region + compass A printed road or topographic map of your county or region in a waterproof sleeve, plus a baseplate compass. |
1 set | €12 |
| Waterproof document bag A sealable waterproof pouch holding copies of IDs, insurance, deeds, prescriptions, and a USB stick. |
1 pouch | €12 |
| FFP2 / N95 respirators A small pack of FFP2 / N95 disposable respirators — one per person, plus a spare. |
(adults + childrenCount) * 4 masks | €15 |
| Disposable nitrile gloves A box of disposable nitrile gloves (non-latex to cover allergies), various sizes. |
100 gloves | €12 |
Three habits this week
- Identify two evacuation routes from your home, neither using the same main road. Drive one this weekend. The exercise costs forty minutes and dramatically lowers panic when the route question comes up at the wrong moment.
- Buy a pack of N95 / FFP2 masks (€10) and put them where you keep keys. They are the single most useful smoke-event item and the one most missing from European households.
- Find out the local fire-warning channel — app, SMS service, or radio frequency — and write it on the fridge. Apps fail under load on red days; fridges do not.
Personalise YOUR wildfire kit — 90 seconds
The list above is the universal half. The wizard asks 6 short questions about your home, household and climate, then adjusts the items and quantities.
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