RHINO72- Your statement makes you sounds like a blue falcon…. but under the circumstances Military bases probably wouldn’t be the safest place. I wouldn’t take the APC because its not very subtle, but the truck would be full of MRE’s, ammo, and such…

I think fires would be the indirect, but almost certian side effect of a Zombie Outbreak- whatever the level. Plus looters, sadists(think mad max) and even survivors, will more than likely be setting fires and tossing cocktails for their own purposes. Doubtedly, any would try to put them out.

Also sadly, most houses and buildings these days are built poorly. They are rarely defendable without many modifications and will crumble just as easily as they would burn. Brick and slate houses stand a better chance- and if you are up north chances are you have a solid house of stone. If not, go somewhere else. Your little whitewashed suburban neighborhoods with houses A,B,C and D (alternating and reversed plans for variety) Are labyrinths of infested, combustible, flimsy piles of timber. These plastic prefab houses just won’t hold up and many are situated on dead end streets. You’d be trapped. I say you have to go mobile if you are in one of these areas. Get out to the country, commercial buildings for supplies, and industrial areas for fortification, fuel and vehicles.

Another thing I would like to add is where you kill zombies, or approximity kill zone, which I believe could be it’s own topic. You don’t want a cluster of rotting corpses piling up around your safe house. This maybe an unpopular thought, but the infection could be airborne. Nobody wants a noxious Z-Cloud hanging around their D-Pad. Plus, unlike the movies, the bodies aren’t just going to go away. They will pile up, and after a while you will have created a rotting ramp. I guess you could burn the bodies, but I don’t think the good Dr. would recomend that.

“Immediately after an outbreak in an urban/sub-urban area the real danger lies in what has plagued humanities cities since the start of cities: FIRE. What fire crews actually make it out will be quickly overwhelmed with zombies and fires. With everything quickly spiralling out of control fire will spread as quick as the plague of zombies. All it takes is one housewife leaving the stove on to feast on flesh. Fires will quickly engulf whole nieghboorhoods and cities with all the people losing their minds at seeing little Joey eat his playmate. Have you ever watched how hard it is for alot of firecrews to contain ONE apartment building fire? Now imagine that happening at every apartment complex. Ever see on tv fires spread from one house to another in a sub-urban nieghboorhood WITH the fire department there? Most areas don’t have enough local crews to handle more than two fires in their serviced areas without calling in help from other areas. This time it will be alot more than two fires and the help will be overwhelmed with more fires than THEY can handle. You can easily imagine whole cities burning. Get out of these densely populated and packed areas. Let the fires burn out and hopefully take most of the zeds with them. You can come back after the fires are done smoldering and scavenge the stores and homes that are left.”

This is your primary concern on where you go immediately during and after the outbreak should focus on this. A zombie can be shot, beaten to pieces, blownup, ran over, blockaded, or one of many other things for defence with fire you’re out of luck. Ever try to fight a fire by yourself? Come back well after the fires have burned out and are done smoldering. Then you can scavenge, which you will have to do in all but the most minimal outbreaks.

On another note, the moment the first zed raises it’s rotting head expect WWZ. I modern society the virus can and will spread like wildfire. Don’t sit around expecting rescue or help. You will have to move to find supplies. Living off the land isn’t an option for man in the 21st century. Few people, even farmers have the knowhow to raise enough crops without modern equipment to support themselves. Much less to do it under zombie attacks.

death

It’s true that they consume a lot of supply. That’s the case for even armored jeeps.

But I know (for Canada at least) that APC’s and tanks do not use a regular combustion engine. They use something that is similar to an aircraft turbine. The main difference is that this turbine can run on any liquid that burns. You could run a Canadian LAV-III on Vodka if you wanted. In the event of a zombie outbreak, having a vehicule that can run on any liquid that burns would be a huge advantage. You could use the available supply of gasoline and diesel while they last, and then find alcohol. Just bring with you a chemistry 536 book with a list of what elements burn and which don’t. You’ll never run out of gas. You must just be careful about mixing them, as this will likely break the engine. It means that if you want to switch from gasoline to vodka for example, you will have to wait for your gas tank to be completely empty.

I would definitely take an APC over a tank, perhaps attach a trailer to it (but considering they already have a lot of space inside it might not be necessary). Nothing could get inside, ever meaning you have a moving, amphibious (in the case of the LAV-III) sheleter. Nothing could get into your way and you could easily move from supply sources to supply sources with a few friends (because you would eventually need to get out to fetch food and other supplies).

Surviving the zombie horde with an APC would be much more like living the life of a nomade. Moving between supply sources constantly to stay alive.

OK so here is why you should move.
I am sure everyone here already has a few starter weapons right?
You need a large 1 ton crew cab diesel truck. It is debatable as to whether a dually is preferred over a single rear wheel truck. It should be 4wd, it should have a lockable metal tool box in the bed with a aux fuel tank and a hand pump. They are all over the place so finding one will not be hard IF you get there first. Snow plow on the front? even better. You will be able to find fuel for this forever. Do NOT choose a military vehicle unless it has a civilian counterpart. You want a vehicle that will have it’s parts stored at every parts store/dealership you pass. Naturally extra tires, fix a flat, and tire repair tools will be good to have. Be sure the tool box actually has tools. Multiple trucks will be the eventual goal.
A trailer to carry extra goods will be commandeered later. You will need to be able to drop it off the truck from INSIDE while moving if needed. You can come back to get it later possibly.

Now get more weapons. Guns, clubs, axes, etc
If your home can last the night go back there for the night and equip the truck/trucks as best you can.
In the morning go to that place you already Chose as your base should this ever occur. Fortify it, equip it, supply it.

OK Now you are probably safe enough to plan a longer term solution. Keep in mind that the less populated and area the better, but you do not want to be so rural (at first) that there are not enough supplies around. Hopefully you have roamed far and wide from your home so that the place you choose will not be completely unknown to you.
Do not choose the mountains as the terrain can hinder escape routes. Hills are good for defense, flat areas can be scanned easier for approaching Zombies easier.

I am sure that any area can be stayed in for the first few years if the outbreak hit hard and fast. there will be canned goods in all of the stores and homes etc for a long time. For long term survival you will end up moving to someplace where you can grow your own food long term and hunt your own game.

I would choose the foothills of the lower Appalachians. An area easily defended on 3 sides with a deep swift clean river on the fourth. Rig the bridges you normally use with explosives in case you need to cut off someones access as you retreat home.

So who do you want to be?
the people BEHIND the wall, well supplied and protected?
OR
the people outside the gate saying please let us in?

Good luck
Sled

AAAAAgh Im doomed :-)

Where i live in the mountains there are many that i know about already stocked with tools, have heavy barricade-able doors and only a few exits and are maintained but pretty much abandoned. Most have their own generators with stock-piled fuel or geo-thermal power (unlikely, but some do). Easily defensible and out of the way. Also if its winter, most likely dry. Though if you didn’t have lights or ventilation of some sort, you’d prolly end up being eaten in your sleep or die from asphyxiation. You could hook up solar power with batteries easily enough and light an area with LED’s to conserve it, and most mine shafts are set up to naturally vent themselves, depending on the mine, when it was set up, and the mining company that did the work. There are also Equipment storage shafts and compounds underground, i have a friend who keeps his old cars and tools in one, its not big, but easily defend-able. Elevated positions or one’s with easily barricaded entrances are best, i would assume. So if in an apartment building, i would try to destroy the stairs/ladders leading to anything above the first floor. You could make exits using zip-lines across disabled power cables (you might need to re-enforce these) or your own zip lines to other buildings, poles, or trees. Personally i would pick something that would have a wide visible range around it to make sure when i shimmied across, that i didnt become dinner. Being in a low populated area may be a good idea, but supplies would be in lower stock, and if animals could become infected… I’d hate to encounter a zombie cougar, bear, or pack of coyotes/wolves/dogs… house cats even… *shudder* But The zombie masses would be far less. I think Visibility would be a must however… so the mine might now work out unless you planned it out well enough