Print the two-page drill
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What this drill is for
The free 72-hour no-utilities drill is a multi-day household clock. This one is shorter on purpose: one room, one hour, so a flat or rowhouse household can practice the parts that fail first — lights that are not where people walk, paths blocked by furniture, and nobody knowing who sends the outside message.
It is built for urban households that cannot evacuate on foot as a unit. It does not cover weapons, medical treatment, or legal advice. It does not teach generator wiring or print unverified survival numbers.
Before you start
Do not start unless all of these are true:
Every adult has said the abort rule out loud (any real emergency, smoke, or official instruction ends the drill). Working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms with battery backup are present on the levels you use — Ready.gov and CPSC both treat battery-backed alarms as part of outage prep, not optional extras. You will use battery or hand-crank lights only — candles stay put away for this drill. Nobody will run a generator, camp stove, charcoal grill, or gas oven/stove as a heater indoors. An outside check-in contact has a phone number written down and knows this is a practice. The chosen room’s floor path is cleared of trip hazards before lights go off.
What it covers
- Lighting placement — one light per person who will be in the room, plus one spare at the doorway; lights staged where hands can find them in the dark; no open flame.
- Safe movement — a marked path to the door and bathroom if that door is in scope; shoes or grip socks on; slowest member goes first on the practice walk.
- Communication — one designated messenger; one short scripted check-in to the outside contact; phone or radio location known before lights out.
- Post-drill checklist — what worked, what broke, what to buy or move, and whether to schedule the 72-hour drill next.
What it will not print, on purpose
- No medical dosing, first-aid procedures, or “how long insulin lasts” figures. Labels and clinicians carry those.
- No carbon-monoxide ppm thresholds or DIY generator wiring. Ready.gov and CDC say generators and combustion heaters stay outdoors and away from openings; call your fire department for local rules.
- No weapons content. Door protocol and who answers the door can live on a separate household card — not in this drill.
NOBODY RUNS — One-Room Blackout Drill
Free · Version 1.0 · 2026-11-05 · MicroVenture Labs · US households · 60 minutes · Print page 1 of 2
Household fill-in (before lights out)
Adults present: ______________________________ Children / slow movers: ______________
Outside check-in name + number: _______________________________________________
Designated messenger: ________________________ Abort rule said aloud by every adult: ☐
Stop conditions — do not start unless checked
- ☐ Smoke + CO alarms with battery backup present/tested on levels used today
- ☐ No candles / open flame for this drill; battery or hand-crank lights only
- ☐ No indoor generator, camp stove, charcoal, or gas oven/stove used as heat
- ☐ Outside contact briefed that this is practice; number written above
- ☐ Floor path cleared; shoes or grip socks on; lift/stairs plan if shared building
- ☐ Any real emergency, smoke, or official order ends the drill immediately
Minutes 0–10 — Lighting placement
- ☐ Count people who will stay in the room; stage one light each plus one spare at the door
- ☐ Place lights where a hand finds them without walking across the room (bedside, chair arm, door ledge)
- ☐ Extra batteries or a charged power bank in a labeled pouch in the same room
- ☐ Turn off overhead lights; confirm each person can switch their own light on in the dark
Minutes 10–25 — Safe movement
- ☐ Agree the path: seat → door → (optional) bathroom door if in scope → seat
- ☐ Slowest member walks the path first with their light; others follow one at a time
- ☐ Note trip points (cords, rugs, toys); move or mark them before the timed run
- ☐ Practice sitting back down without knocking lights onto the floor
One-Room Blackout Drill — page 2 of 2
Communication · timed run · post-drill checklist · MicroVenture Labs
Minutes 25–35 — Communication
- ☐ Messenger states the script once: “Practice blackout drill at [address/room]. All accounted for. Next check-in in 30 minutes unless we abort.”
- ☐ Send one message to the outside contact (text preferred if it works without drama)
- ☐ Confirm phone/radio location in the dark; no scavenger hunt mid-drill
- ☐ If building alarms or an official alert sounds: abort, lights on, follow the real instruction
Minutes 35–55 — Timed dark run
- ☐ Lights out for 20 minutes (or shorter if a child/elder needs a shorter first pass)
- ☐ Stay in the agreed room; use only staged lights
- ☐ Midpoint: messenger confirms everyone still accounted for (voice count)
- ☐ End: lights as needed; note the clock time ________
Minutes 55–60 — Post-drill checklist
- ☐ What worked: ___________________________________________________________
- ☐ What broke / was missing: ________________________________________________
- ☐ One thing to buy or move this week: ________________________________________
- ☐ Outside contact replied? ☐ yes ☐ no Follow-up message sent? ☐
- ☐ Schedule next practice: ☐ repeat this drill ☐ fridge/freezer clock only ☐ 72-hour drill
- ☐ Household sign-off (initials): __________ __________ __________ __________
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