Rule of Threes

Think of three like a magic number. Not only is it the most important number to remember when signaling for rescue, in a survival situation remembering the number “three” can save your life because it refers to basic survival guidelines.

The rule of threes can help you define your priorities in a survival situation because they tell you how long one is able to survive under certain conditions.

So should you worry first about fire, shelter, water or food? Did you know that food is one of the last priorities in a survival situation?

Let me lay these out for you, remember that these can vary from person to person, but three is a good average. Okay, ready? One, two, three!

• Three minutes. The average person can survive for three minutes without oxygen. This applies to situations which would deprive you of fresh air ranging from being buried in an avalanche or snow slide to being in an airtight shelter without an air-hole. Once the existing oxygen around one is used up, the person would only have three minutes to live. If someone is choking, one would have a very small amount of time to get them breathing again.

  So the first priority in any survival situation, remember to breath!

• Three hours. It can happen that a person could survive in extreme conditions without shelter for about three hours. Mankind has survived in the deadliest environments imaginable, not because they are particularly tough organisms, but because they developed means of shelter which allowed them to adapt to those environments.

  Once any medical emergencies or immediate dangers are taken care of your next priority will be to find, build or stay inside a shelter while you decide what to do.

• Three days. An average person can live for only three days without water. But this isn’t a safety cushion, meaning that within two days one would already be suffering severely, so don’t wait in your quest to find safe water to drink.

  After shelter, the next priority is water. Any water you find in nature should be considered tainted and will need to be purified by boiling, filtering or the use of purifying tablets.

• Three weeks. It takes at least three weeks for a person to die of starvation. Can you see why food would be the lowest priority. Not eating can be uncomfortable at first, but trust me, one gets used to it. But, like water, the effects of not eating will weaken you long before you are actually dead, so obviously you will need to eat, but only after shelter and water have been taken care of and if you haven’t got enough water then you should definitely not eat because the body will use fluids to digest the food, dehydrating the body that much faster.

  The last physical priority is food.

• Three months. It is said that one cannot survive without hope for more than three months. I don’t know about this one, I guess each person will react differently given the circumstances.

• Three years. I reckon living without a purpose in life or goals for three years will make anyone bonkers and if you find yourself falling into that trap it would be a good idea to find something to strive for!

Signaling for help:

• The three letters “SOS” mean “Save Our Souls” which is a universally recognized distress signal. In morse code these three letters are the easiest to signal (S . . . O – - – S . . .). Notice that it is three dots, three dashes and three dots again (. . . – - – . . .). This signal can be made with light flashes, knocking sounds, blowing a whistle, honking a horn and anything else you can think of. If you learn nothing else about morse code, remember that three dots, three dashes and three dots again will bring help.

• Even more simplified, three of anything will also be universally recognized as a distress signal. For instance, three shots fired, three horn blasts, three blows on a whistle, three flashes of light, three smoke signals, three fires, etc. Keep repeating the signal of three with pauses in between and if anyone observes it they will soon be aware that you are in trouble.

• Have you ever noticed that a triangle is used to point out hazards, emergencies or danger? That three sided symbol is also universally recognized. If you light three fires as points in a triangle it will be universally recognized as a distress signal and, if noticed, help will come. If not possible to make a triangle, putting three fires in a row will also work. You can also make a large triangle sign using branches, stones or anything else you can think of. Remember to make it contrast with the surroundings so it will be easily noticeable from a distance.