I want to share useful generator information so that serious and possibly dangerous pitfalls can be avoided and tactical efficiencies can be realized.

Outside Only: First, there is an important warning– generators MUST be run and exhausted OUTSIDE! Carbon monoxide can and will kill you with no warning. Carbon monoxide has no smell or taste. Of course there are things you can do to run one inside, but that involves technical issues not covered here. Be careful and plan accordingly!

Our emergency implementation: On August 23rd of 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck Southeastern Louisiana and Mississippi. Fortunately, I was living in Southwest Louisiana, and I was no longer a Louisiana State Trooper that had to worry about going to New Orleans to help. In the following two weeks, though, all of the people pitched in at churches to send things to help out the disaster victims. Our churches in Lake Charles and the surrounding communities were also taking in some of the refugees (and later other cities outside of Louisiana did the same).