I've seen quite a bit of mention of use of OC as an adjunct to home defense.
Questions that come to my mind about the use of OC, CS, or other irritant aerosols inside of the home.
With certain formulations of the synthetic irritants like CS, it can leave a persistant residual effect in the carpet, furniture, etc that can take days or weeks to remove by airing out.
OC supposedly doesn't have this flaw.
However, there could be unintended consequences to use.
For instance, in my house, the air intake for the central air pulls air from the main hallway leading to the bedrooms. During winter, the heater kicks in whenever it's cold enough, pulling air from that intake in the center of the house, to warm it and disperse it to the rest of the house, before sucking it back through the rooms to be recycled.
Now, if for instance, I was to hear an intruder in the hallway and cracked open the door to blast a cloud of gas from my "assualt" sprayer, there's the very real possibility (Murphys Law) that the heater would choose that exact moment to kick in, circulating the gas through the entire house, gassing me as well as the intruder.
Given my emphysema, exposure could trigger a fatal airway seizure attack. Not a good outcome in my opinion.
So, how to avoid such problems?
Obviously the first step would be a gas mask. This is simple enough for me to do (if I had one), but doing so fresh out of sleep might be a real test. And it doesn't do your kids any good (if you have any) since they'd be asleep (presumably in their own room) when they start choking on OC, panicking, screaming, etc.
Then there's the heater control. Perhaps a person could install a "holster" or such by the bed where the OC can would be kept but, when removed, would disconnect power to the thermostat, making it impossible for the central air to kick in while your canister isn't in the "safe" spot.
Also, what if the criminals use gas first? If you've got something of value, and they think you're armed, the smarter ones might try to get it while you're gone...but then again they might need you to open up (money safe, gun vault, whatever).
This came to mind after seeing "Panic Room". Yes...it's a movie, thus fiction. But it did raise some questions.
For instance, say your "Panic Room" is also where you keep your extensive collection of gold eagle coins. The criminals want in, you want to keep them out.
Having seen some brochures from various safe manufactures, I've seen mentioned how their vault doors are "penetration" resistant. I take that to mean that it'll stop bullets as well as drills. I've also seen how such rooms have steel grid and laminate armor installed to stop bullets and forced entry.
That's all fine and dandy. But what about your air? The thing I kept thinking while watching "Panic Room" was how, if the guys brought a drill to drill out a safe, why the hell they didn't drill a hole through the wall or door and start bouncing some bullets around inside via ricochet?
Or, in this instance, squirt in some OC with a tube? CS was used in Vietnam to flush out VC from tunnel complexes so they could be killed. And those were soldiers. Scared women would be so much easier.
I don't think even level IV laminate armor is going to stop an electric drill from making a hole in it. And, ironicly, the very armor that was supposed to protect you will now protect the bad guy from YOUR bullets.
So Mr. Crim is busy drilling a hole through the wall, shielded by that $4,000 vault door and level IV laminate armor, and when he's done, sprays in a little (or a lot) OC or some other nasty chemical (maybe strong ammonia? Surplus masks don't filter THAT out!) and waits patiently outside with his crimies for you to either croak or come out. Either way, you'd be had.
Defenses?
Questions that come to my mind about the use of OC, CS, or other irritant aerosols inside of the home.
With certain formulations of the synthetic irritants like CS, it can leave a persistant residual effect in the carpet, furniture, etc that can take days or weeks to remove by airing out.
OC supposedly doesn't have this flaw.
However, there could be unintended consequences to use.
For instance, in my house, the air intake for the central air pulls air from the main hallway leading to the bedrooms. During winter, the heater kicks in whenever it's cold enough, pulling air from that intake in the center of the house, to warm it and disperse it to the rest of the house, before sucking it back through the rooms to be recycled.
Now, if for instance, I was to hear an intruder in the hallway and cracked open the door to blast a cloud of gas from my "assualt" sprayer, there's the very real possibility (Murphys Law) that the heater would choose that exact moment to kick in, circulating the gas through the entire house, gassing me as well as the intruder.
Given my emphysema, exposure could trigger a fatal airway seizure attack. Not a good outcome in my opinion.
So, how to avoid such problems?
Obviously the first step would be a gas mask. This is simple enough for me to do (if I had one), but doing so fresh out of sleep might be a real test. And it doesn't do your kids any good (if you have any) since they'd be asleep (presumably in their own room) when they start choking on OC, panicking, screaming, etc.
Then there's the heater control. Perhaps a person could install a "holster" or such by the bed where the OC can would be kept but, when removed, would disconnect power to the thermostat, making it impossible for the central air to kick in while your canister isn't in the "safe" spot.
Also, what if the criminals use gas first? If you've got something of value, and they think you're armed, the smarter ones might try to get it while you're gone...but then again they might need you to open up (money safe, gun vault, whatever).
This came to mind after seeing "Panic Room". Yes...it's a movie, thus fiction. But it did raise some questions.
For instance, say your "Panic Room" is also where you keep your extensive collection of gold eagle coins. The criminals want in, you want to keep them out.
Having seen some brochures from various safe manufactures, I've seen mentioned how their vault doors are "penetration" resistant. I take that to mean that it'll stop bullets as well as drills. I've also seen how such rooms have steel grid and laminate armor installed to stop bullets and forced entry.
That's all fine and dandy. But what about your air? The thing I kept thinking while watching "Panic Room" was how, if the guys brought a drill to drill out a safe, why the hell they didn't drill a hole through the wall or door and start bouncing some bullets around inside via ricochet?
Or, in this instance, squirt in some OC with a tube? CS was used in Vietnam to flush out VC from tunnel complexes so they could be killed. And those were soldiers. Scared women would be so much easier.
I don't think even level IV laminate armor is going to stop an electric drill from making a hole in it. And, ironicly, the very armor that was supposed to protect you will now protect the bad guy from YOUR bullets.
So Mr. Crim is busy drilling a hole through the wall, shielded by that $4,000 vault door and level IV laminate armor, and when he's done, sprays in a little (or a lot) OC or some other nasty chemical (maybe strong ammonia? Surplus masks don't filter THAT out!) and waits patiently outside with his crimies for you to either croak or come out. Either way, you'd be had.
Defenses?