21 "Fatal" Safety Mistakes You Should Never, Ever, EVER Make, According To First Responders

1. "Ex-911 dispatcher here. If everyone successful your location comes down with flu-like symptoms astatine the aforesaid time, it could beryllium a c monoxide leak. Make definite your c monoxide detectors are working. Took a telephone wherever a full household would person died wrong hours, but the dada had a hunch and called the occurrence section to trial the air."

—Anonymous, 39, California

2. "Firefighter paramedic here. If your house, apartment, oregon workplace is connected fire, get everyone out, and CLOSE THE DOOR down you. Open doors let oxygen to provender the fire. Assemble distant from the structure. Do not spell backmost wrong for pets. If you cannot get out, adjacent the doorway betwixt you and the fire. Stuff sheets, towels, oregon blankets nether the door. Stay debased to debar immoderate smoke. Prepare to awesome erstwhile assistance arrives, and perceive for responders calling for you."

—Anonymous

3. "If you spot an ambulance propulsion up to a neighbors house, defy the temptation to tally implicit and connection your help. This tin interfere with giving the diligent due treatment. Remember, if the neighbour needed your help, they would person called you alternatively of 911."

—Anonymous, 65, Illinois

4. "When calling 911, ne'er beryllium the archetypal to disconnect the call. The 911 relation whitethorn person much questions, truthful hold until they archer you to bash so."

—Anonymous, 74, New Hampshire

5. "Always deterioration your seatbelt erstwhile successful a car, nary substance however abbreviated the travel oregon however debased the speed. That goes treble for your children."

—Anonymous, 67

6. "Always usage a bath mat successful the shower, and remember, pulverization tin beryllium precise slippery erstwhile other lands connected the floor."

—Anonymous

7. "If you get bitten oregon stung by a poisonous snake, spider, oregon scorpion, don't usage a tourniquet, don't suck connected the wound, and don't chopped into the wound. Keep the bitten country little than your heart. Go to the exigency country ASAP."

—Anonymous

8. "Oxygen enriches air, making fires easier to commencement and pain hotter. Soft surfaces specified arsenic upholstered furniture, carpet, and furniture linens clasp oxygen and tin easy substance a fire. Take each precaution to support yourself and your location if you usage location oxygen for a aesculapian information that requires cylinders oregon a concentrator successful your home. Always unafraid cylinders connected an oxygen cylinder rack and guarantee the valves are afloat closed erstwhile not successful use. Keep cylinders upright and store successful a well-ventilated area, debar closets oregon tiny unvented areas, including nether the furniture oregon trunk of a car."

"Never usage aerosol sprays containing combustible materials adjacent oxygen canisters. Never usage oxygen astir precocious vigor appliances oregon unfastened flames, and bash not use petroleum based products connected your look adjacent the nasal cannula. Make definite you person moving fume alarms, and get an 'Oxygen successful Use/No Smoking' motion to spot connected your doorway to alert visitors and the exigency workers."

—comfycrab278

9. "Check that your location numbers are disposable erstwhile the extracurricular airy is on. Many location numbers are successful heavy shadiness erstwhile the airy is on. Once you announcement this, you'll beryllium amazed however communal it is."

—Anonymous, 66, New York

10. "Former NYFD paramedic present ... Learn CPR. CPR courses are disposable astatine astir unpaid occurrence stations and unpaid ambulance stations. They are usually free, but a donation volition beryllium appreciated. Also, first-aid courses whitethorn beryllium disposable arsenic well."

—Anonymous, 71, USA

11. "After calling 911, if you're capable to, marque definite that the beforehand doorway is unlocked oregon open."

—Anonymous

12. "If you oregon anyone adjacent to you takes opiates, prescribed oregon not, person Narcan connected manus and cognize however to usage it. Narcan is simply a lifesaver."

—Anonymous

13. "Be cautious erstwhile warming up your car successful the greeting and going backmost wrong the house. So galore radical permission their car unattended successful the early, dark, sometimes foggy mornings and travel backmost extracurricular to find their car stolen and nary mode to spot who did it oregon wherever it went."

—Anonymous, 33, California

14. "When you telephone 911: State your determination intelligibly and calmly. Check, Call, Care: Check the country for safety. Call 911. Care for the victim. Stay calm — panicked radical can't think; enactment calm to assistance effectively."

—Anonymous, 43, Illinois

15. "If you person thing stuck successful you similar a weapon (rebar, shovel handle, etc.), DO NOT propulsion it out. The harm going retired volition beryllium worse, and you volition bleed out."

—Anonymous, 33, California

16. "Once the car is moving, bash not instrumentality that babe retired of their car seat. Even for a second. It's conscionable not worthy it."

—Anonymous, 37, California

17. "Please, PLEASE cognize your determination oregon what the determination looks like, what landmarks are astir you, oregon what vehicles are outside! 911 exertion is improving, but it's not 100% accurate. So, to HELP US SAVE YOU, bash these elemental things, and TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TOO! As a 911 dispatcher for 17 years, I person taken truthful galore calls from radical who person nary thought wherever they are oregon what is astir them. If your child/grandchild, niece/nephew, etc., does not cognize this and calls 911, we sometimes conflict to stitchery life-saving information. As a 911 dispatcher and a mom, my girl knew her address, what the location statement was, and who to telephone successful immoderate exigency by the clip she was 3."

—Anonymous

18. "ALWAYS cleanable your lint traps. It's a immense occurrence hazard."

—Anonymous, 37, California

19. "Keep an extinguisher successful the room oregon adjacent to it and cognize however to usage it."

—Anonymous, 37, California

20. "You should besides person a first-aid kit successful your home, car, oregon both. My idiosyncratic acquisition volition archer you that erstwhile you assistance idiosyncratic and prevention a life, you volition ne'er hide that."

—Anonymous, 71, USA

21. "If you're older and person a autumn hazard oregon person idiosyncratic you emotion who has a aesculapian past that could origin them to beryllium locked wrong the location with a aesculapian emergency, person a hidden cardinal determination — and notify your section bureau and alarm institution of wherever this is placed. All agencies person a database of addresses wherever determination is simply a Knox container oregon hidden cardinal for those who bash this, and it's a unafraid announcement that ONLY THOSE PERMITTED volition beryllium capable to spot wherever it's hidden successful the lawsuit of immoderate benignant of emergency. Just immoderate easy, elemental tips from idiosyncratic who does attraction if you marque it!"

—Anonymous

Note: Some responses person been edited for magnitude and/or clarity.

Fellow archetypal responders, what are immoderate "emergency" information mistakes oregon tips radical should cognize that could prevention their lives? Tell america successful the comments, oregon if you similar to stay anonymous, you tin usage the signifier below.