Survival comes in a box that floats

Prepare for storms now with a readiness kit, says the seller of the BuoyBox.

By PAUL SWIDER, Times Staff Writer
Published August 27, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Special to the Times] Pete McGrath has developed the BuoyBox, an emergency readiness kit with everything you need to survive for three days after a disaster. He also offers kits for boaters and for pets.

LARGO - Nothing focuses the mind for hurricane preparedness like having a storm spinning offshore. The rest of the time, most people don't think much about being ready.

"We're a nation of procrastinators," said Pete McGrath, who has started a new business selling emergency preparedness kits. "We'll wait until the very end. This is a way to not wait. You just buy the box."

McGrath sells BuoyBox, a small, watertight kit with what he says is everything you need to survive for three days after a disaster. McGrath said he researched other kits on the market and designed his with the most practical assortment of goods.

"I was trying to think of everything," he said, "but you can't have everything."

McGrath, who had a 31-year career with J.C. Penney Co., has lived throughout the country and has seen disaster vulnerabilities, from snow and cold to tornadoes. But when he moved to a home near the Intracoastal Waterway more than a year ago, and learned he was 9 feet above sea level, he started thinking about what might happen if a storm hit.

His first thought was how to keep documents dry. He searched for a container the shape of file folders that would actually float if the water rose. His search revealed that none of them would survive a flood. "They were mostly backpacks or duffel bags," he said. "Nobody had one that would actually float."

McGrath uses a plastic container that resembles a military ammunition box, said the former reserve fighter pilot. He then packs it with the usual essentials, like matches and water-purification tablets, but adds some unique twists to a kit designed to be completely sustaining for three days.

His kit includes a survival quantity of water and emergency food rations. It also includes a windup radio and shake-charge flashlight so survivors don't need batteries. He adds other items, like emergency blankets and chemical warmers, as well as work gloves and long-burning candles.

There are other kits on the market, including those made or endorsed by agencies like the Red Cross. Even these differ on their contents because it's hard to imagine exactly what survivors would need, experts say.

"It's pretty much a matter of how much you want to spend," said Chad Magnuson, the director of disaster services for the Tampa Bay chapter of the Red Cross.

That agency has small kits it sells through retail stores, but also larger, more comprehensive setups at its online store, redcrossstore.org. Magnuson said more such kits are available generally in the marketplace. "Nonprofits have done kits for a long time, but now you see more and more on the commercial end," he said. "There's not more disasters, but there's more visible disasters, and the private sector's caught on to that."

McGrath said he got into the business out of personal interest. He didn't need a job but got more and more interested in the idea the more he researched it.

"I didn't want to do nothing in retirement," said McGrath, 62. "This is fun for me."

BuoyBox also adds other dimensions that are unusual. He makes survival kits geared toward pets because of their unique needs. He does not include food because of some of the contamination issues lately, but he says that will change.

He also makes a survival kit for boaters, including items like a signaling mirror and seasickness tablets. The Coast Guard requires basic safety equipment, but its representatives said they have no recommended list for survival should you become shipwrecked. McGrath said he talked to boaters who at first downplayed the need, then rethought.

"They said, 'I've seen that rogue wave. I've seen that sudden squall. I want one of those kits,' " he said.

McGrath said he's just getting started and sells only online and by mail, though he'll personally deliver to local customers. He said he has sold a few dozen kits since he started in July and has about 500 assembled in storage but plans to ramp up for next year.

Prices range from $69.99 for a one-person "standard" kit to $139.99 for a two-person "best" kit. For prices of all models, visit www.buoybox.com and click on All Products in the left rail.

He said he's aware that individual items in his kits are available elsewhere - he's just made it easier to find all the items in one quick, portable purchase.

What's in the box

e_SBlt Matches

e_SBlt Water-purification tablets

e_SBlt Food rations

e_SBlt Water

e_SBlt Windup radio

e_SBlt Battery-free flashlight

e_SBlt Emergency blankets

e_SBlt Work gloves

- Long-burning candles

Go to www.buoybox.com for more information.

[Last modified August 26, 2007, 21:49:22]