Ode to tap water...

[Lawson]

I recently got back into private security, one of my first posts was a construction site. The scheduler when explaining the site to me explained it as a "high end condo building" he only neglected to tell me they haven't finished building it yet. No bathrooms (a disgusting portapotty though) no heat, no tap water.

For the last few years in security, I have mostly worked at high profile accounts like ports, govt buildings, transit, etc... and patrol. I had forgotten what it was like to work these long 12-hr shifts with no access to resources. I hadn't brought my "go-bag" with me so I didn't even have my emergency bottles of water.

Anyway, this is just me airing out a little bit. To all of those of you who work at sites with low resources on a regular basis, my hat's off to you.

[Jaeger]

After doing receptions and fairly normal sites and then going into retail security kinda made me see things in a different light too. The back rooms of the various markets and the like were far from anything I had witnessed before starting out from the toilets, but naturally it must be nothing compared to sites with basic infrastructure missing from it.

I heard terrible stories about this camping site and nature park our company had up until some years ago. The officer or officers were required to drive around the site with a car, but the officers weren't really provided with any kind of means of going to the toilets or having lunches indoors. The officer or officers just basically lived in the car for the duration of the shift while having to relieve themselves out into the woods and the like.

I am lucky in the sense that I haven't had the "pleasure" in doing sites with this sort stuff missing from it. All I can do is to tip my hat off to all of our foreign or domestic colleagues who have to endure this on a regular basis.

[PolarDeer]

Anyway, this is just me airing out a little bit. To all of those of you who work at sites with low resources on a regular basis, my hat's off to you.

There was this one time a couple of years ago when I spent three nights guarding an emptied squat in case of the squatters attempting to return, the plot of land was scheduled as a site of new apartment buildings. All the buildings there were fairly derelict 19th century stuff and I had to "do my thing" in an outhouse aside from a couple of times per night when the shift supervisor would come to let me off to a break at a nearby gas station. I had a car with me, though.

[Jim1348]

Before I retired, a fellow deputy told me that he carries a small pack of baby wipes with him on patrol and during deer hunting. Sometimes you need one for one end and a second one to wipe your hands. I will probably start doing that next year when I am horseback riding or ATVing on very long rides in very rural areas. I was reminded of this a couple of weeks ago when the family and I went camping at a state park in northern Minnesota. The water was turned off at most building and the "pit toilets" were available. Sometimes it is a blessing just to have a warm, clean place to use the rest room and warm water and soap to "wash your paws!"

[macguard]

Isn't that a OSHA violation for not having sanitary facilities.

I've worked at a few vacant buildings with no toliets/washroom.

One of the guards complain to OSHA, and we ended up getting port-o potties.

[Pop pop]

Well men, I fear working at these sites are too un cool for me, I need a gig that has black top and shiny floors.

much respect to you boys who work these gigs.

[copelandamuffy]

How many times have I been at construction sites where there is no portable toilets, no water? Nothing. The woods, if you’re lucky to be near woods, is your bathroom
Yes bring baby wipes for a number of reasons.

For those who work in the snow belt it no fun. On a night when the temperatures are hovering around 15 degrees, your running your engine most of all night to keep warm
Good luck if you expect to be paid for your petrol for your car. Ain’t going to happen

And I haven’t forgotten those in Phoenix. Must be a blast to sit at construction site on a Saturday afternoon in July when the temperatures sizzle to 110 degrees. Your car you are sitting in is probably 120 degrees. Can you spell oven? There is not enough bottled water in the world for your thirst

And Mr. Boredom creeps in. Imagine sitting in your car at a construction site at 0300 hours. It so dark you cannot see your hand in front of your face. Turn on the car radio, turn on the dome light? Yeah you can do all this, but you’re draining your battery
And sometimes you do not want the world to know your there. Silence and not being seen is sometime a good thing.


If you are assigned to do a construction site be prepared


Plenty of bottled water
Snacks, snacks, snacks
Paper towels
Baby wipes
Trash bag for disposing the above
Fully charged cell phone. Don’t be calling Thelma Lou all night for plans for dinner over at the blue bird dinner
Full charged flashlight with extra batteries
Warm jacket, blanket, mittens, warm hats
Tooth brush and toothpaste
Portable radio


Been there. Done this many times

[copelandamuffy]

On the flip side of all this:

I got called one Saturday afternoon from one of our Road Supervisors
He got a call from a new Toyota dealership in Metro Boston who could not reset the alarms They needed a Guard to sit all night in the show room and baby sit the dealership
Roadie was at his wits end, as he was getting a lot of no’s. My wife and I had nothing going on so I said yes. I picked up some sandwiches, coffee at Dunkin Doughnuts and I was on my way

Lead sales person was quite happy to see me. All I needed to do was once an hour, walk around the showroom, service bays, and around the dealer’s lot

The rest of my time I can sit in the salesperson’s lounge and watch television
Comfy seats, clean and spotless
Lead Sales person hinted there were a wide variety of channels I could watch
NFL, NHL NBA, Major League baseball, FOX, CNN, Turner Classic movies, and yes a few Hard Core Rated X movie channels.

I played it safe. Instead of watching Bob and Sally behind closed doors at Motel 6, I watched a John Wayne Movie Marathon on Turner Classic movies all night

John Wayne, Ricky Nelson, Dean Martin, and Walter Brennan in Rio Lobo

[Pop pop]

On the flip side of all this:

I got called one Saturday afternoon from one of our Road Supervisors
He got a call from a new Toyota dealership in Metro Boston who could not reset the alarms They needed a Guard to sit all night in the show room and baby sit the dealership
Roadie was at his wits end, as he was getting a lot of no’s. My wife and I had nothing going on so I said yes. I picked up some sandwiches, coffee at Dunkin Doughnuts and I was on my way

Lead sales person was quite happy to see me. All I needed to do was once an hour, walk around the showroom, service bays, and around the dealer’s lot

The rest of my time I can sit in the salesperson’s lounge and watch television
Comfy seats, clean and spotless
Lead Sales person hinted there were a wide variety of channels I could watch
NFL, NHL NBA, Major League baseball, FOX, CNN, Turner Classic movies, and yes a few Hard Core Rated X movie channels.

I played it safe. Instead of watching Bob and Sally behind closed doors at Motel 6, I watched a John Wayne Movie Marathon on Turner Classic movies all night

John Wayne, Ricky Nelson, Dean Martin, and Walter Brennan in Rio Lobo

Now that's a good gig,throw in Eldorado with the Duke and a cup of life juice and you're good to go

[PolarDeer]

If you are assigned to do a construction site be prepared


Plenty of bottled water
Snacks, snacks, snacks
Paper towels
Baby wipes
Trash bag for disposing the above
Fully charged cell phone. Don’t be calling Thelma Lou all night for plans for dinner over at the blue bird dinner
Full charged flashlight with extra batteries
Warm jacket, blanket, mittens, warm hats
Tooth brush and toothpaste
Portable radio


Been there. Done this many times

I concur. Aside from the occasional gigs such as that squat and a few others of similar type (say, you guard an exhibition tent in a downtown area for whatever event overnight) my sites have included stuff like a shopping mall under construction, so bringing in snacks and something to drink (especially coffee in a thermos, a winner for the long nights) and probably something to get by the moments of boredom (I've done everything from reading books/mags and filling crosswords to listening almost my entire collection of music albums) will be heavily useful.

And definitely the flashlight, probably a spare flashlight too with enough batteries. Being able to see in the darkness is essential for any security professional. I've taken to the habit of occasionally having my second flashlight (A Led Lenser P7) or a company-issue one in my patrol car or the guard post in case of the primary one (which I carry on my belt) happening to fail.