Inside a prepper's 'end-of-the-world closet' that holds $10,000 worth of doomsday supplies

Leanna Garfield/Business Insider

Jason Charles, a 39-year-old firefighter who lives in Manhattan, started prepping in 2010 after he read William Forstchen's "One Second After." Set in post-apocalyptic North Carolina, the book chronicles a man's efforts to keep his family alive.

Charles immediately started amassing thousands of dollars worth of supplies — from canned goods to knives to first-aid kits — and wilderness skills, so he would be ready if a disaster hit the city.

"There was one part [in the book] when he says, 'I should've gotten more. I should've gotten more food,' and it got me thinking, I never want that to happen to my kids," Charles, who has a wife and three kids, tells Business Insider.

Two years later, he became the president of the New York City Preppers Network, the local chapter of a national organization that promotes self-reliance in case a natural disaster, terrorist attack, or other unforeseen catastrophe strikes. 

Charles took us inside his Harlem apartment and storage unit, where he keeps his gear.

After seven years of prepping, Charles says he has bought about $20,000 worth of supplies. He keeps half of it inside his bedroom and half in what he calls his "end-of-the-world closet."

In the closet, Charles keeps three vests and one bullet-proof breast plate that weighs about 20 pounds. The pockets can store things like first-aid supplies and food.

On another shelf, there are small bags with bandages and antibiotics ...