In Poland, you typically wait 9 to 12 minutes for an ambulance in towns and cities, and up to around 20 elsewhere. Do you know what to do in those minutes?
A book that walks you step by step through what to do in the first minutes of a break-in, fire, accident, or attack — before anyone gets to you. No panic, no fear-mongering. Concrete procedures, ready to put in place this weekend. Time from when the emergency call is received to when the ambulance arrives: medians for each Polish province, separately for towns and cities with more than 10,000 residents and for other areas. Source: Statistics Poland (GUS), 2024 data.
Why most people don't know what to do
Nobody taught you this in school. Nobody taught you at work either. Maybe once in your life you took a first-aid course for your driver’s license — and that was 15 years ago. You know you’re supposed to call 112. But do you know exactly what to say? In what order? What to do while you wait? What to do when there’s a child at home who just woke up and is crying?
Most safety guides are written by people who have never stood in the situation they’re describing. Or by military folks who use language you don’t speak. Or by gadget salesmen who want to push an alarm, a stun gun, and a “tactical defense” course on you for 4,000 PLN. But you can start with things that cost nothing, or next to nothing. You just need to know which ones.
This book exists because for 25 years I’ve watched how people react in hard situations. People get lost not because they’re weak — but because nobody ever showed them the order of the steps. Once you’ve been shown, once or twice, it sticks.
What's inside
- 24 chapters of procedures for the most common emergencies
- Checklists for the home, the first-aid kit, and the car, with the most important ones ready to print
- One-page decision flowcharts — to stick on the fridge
- Tips for families with kids, spread across many chapters: how to talk, how to practice, what to avoid
- A list of items worth having at home before you need them
Who this book is for — and who it isn't
For you, if:
- You want to know what to do when something happens at home or on the street
- You have a family and feel responsible for their safety
- You'd rather have a plan, even if you never need it
- You're looking for material you'll read once and keep coming back to
Not for you, if:
- You're looking for a book on military tactics or shooting
- You want wilderness survival and bushcraft
- You're hoping that reading alone will be enough, with no follow-through
- You'd rather believe that nothing bad will ever happen to you
Frequently asked questions
Yes, it’s written for you. I wrote it for people who never had the chance to learn this. I assume zero prior knowledge.
It’s not a translation. The book is built around the Polish context: emergency numbers, RCB emergency alerts, IMGW weather warnings, and regulations. The examples come from Poland, like the September 2024 flood, but also from around the world. Some of the procedures originate in other countries, for example the “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” rule for earthquakes.
Paperback. ePub and audiobook are in the pipeline — sign up for the newsletter to be notified.
This is a book about how civilians prepare and respond: from the home and the street to extreme situations, including war seen through their eyes. It draws on military frameworks and concepts, such as MARCH and OODA, but it isn’t a military tactics manual and doesn’t teach shooting. Fighting comes up only as a last resort: in terrorist attacks and in self-defense, when there’s no way to escape.
I’ll share purchase details, including invoicing, on launch day. For business orders over 10 copies — email firma@preparatum.pl, we have special pricing.
First 50 copies at 89 PLN each
Launching in late 2026. Sign up and I'll let you know on launch day.
Notify me at launch