Hi! Charlie again. I’m baaack… to help you BE PREPARED (yup, just like the Boy Scouts).

In my last email, I promised you a story.

So, I asked the Black Rock City Emergency Services Department (ESD) to share some “unprepared for the playa” stories. As it turns out, the tales are countless. They report that about 75% of the reasons why people seek medical help at the event could have been prevented and/or treated without their assistance. 75%!

For example, last year there was a guy who went to an ESD station for a paper cut. That’s right, he was soooo unprepared for the event, that he didn’t even have a plaster (I’m British, you probably call it a band-aid).

Some hungover participants went to ESD searching for aspirin. Some women went to ESD stations looking for tampons. In case you didn’t know, there is no big stack of free stuff; no band-aids, tampons, condoms, goggles, dust masks, sunscreen or lip balm at Burning Man.

“Your Mommy's not going to be there to take care of you...” -- Megs, from our Preparation video series

YOU need to bring everything you need, because…

• The Black Rock Desert is a harsh environment, and

• Unlike a music festival, there is nothing to buy on site (except coffee and ice, of course) 

Everyone, including you, must pack a Playa First Aid Kit.  

It even says so on the back of your ticket (go look, I’ll wait):

“You must bring enough food, water, shelter and first aid to survive the duration of the event in a harsh desert environment…..”

It also says it on the website and in the Survival Guide. This is not a test! We really mean it.

Now...

If you REALLY hurt yourself in Black Rock City, we’ve got six medical stations spread across the playa for your injury convenience. Heck, we even make house calls. We are required to provide basic medical and fire services, yet what we’ve created is far beyond basic.

But we expect you to take care of the little things. Please, leave our medical professionals available to deal with the real emergencies. Thank you in advance.

Got more preparation questions?
Read our Event FAQs.

Are videos more your thing?
Watch our Preparation video series.

Wait, is this your first Burn?
Check out our First-Timer’s Guide.

When was the last time you read the Survival Guide?

Again, cheers for reading all the way to the end,

Charlie “Louder!” Dolman

P.S. In my next message, I’ll share how YOU can be a VIP at Burning Man.

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Image credit: Flying tent by Evan Morrison (YouTube)

Burning Man Project • 660 Alabama St. San Francisco, CA 94110 • 415-865-3800
Burning Man Project is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, tax ID 45-2638273.
All contributions are fully tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.