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The EMTs kicked my door in!!


Alpo

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I was thinking about this the other day.

 

Remember the commercials for the pendant for old people. "I've fallen and I can't get up", and they will send help.

 

For the people that live alone, have you considered what would happen if you had to call for help. This doesn't have to be old people. Just people that live alone.

 

Let's say I get up and trip over the damn dog and fall and break my leg. I drag myself over to the table and get my phone and call 911. But I don't think I'm going to be able to drag myself down the hall to the front door and unlock it with a broken leg. That means of course they're going to bust my door in. Hmmmm. Needs to be a better way.

 

I was thinking about those lock boxes, like they do for realtors. "I think I broke my leg, please send an ambulance to 123 Elm Street. The combination to the lock box is 369. There's a front door key in the box."

 

But I wonder how burglar resistant those lock boxes are? Sorta defeats the purpose of having steel doors with deadbolt locks, if there's an easily available key outside the door. If a 7 year old could break into one of those boxes with a screwdriver, that's probably not the best way to do it.

 

Have any of y'all other folks that live by yourself given any thought to how you would do that? Let an emergency worker into your house when you were sick or injured and unable to move?

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2 minutes ago, Alpo said:

I was thinking about this the other day.

 

Remember the commercials for the pendant for old people. "I've fallen and I can't get up", and they will send help.

 

For the people that live alone, have you considered what would happen if you had to call for help. This doesn't have to be old people. Just people that live alone.

 

Let's say I get up and trip over the damn dog and fall and break my leg. I drag myself over to the table and get my phone and call 911. But I don't think I'm going to be able to drag myself down the hall to the front door and unlock it with a broken leg. That means of course they're going to bust my door in. Hmmmm. Needs to be a better way.

 

I was thinking about those lock boxes, like they do for realtors. "I think I broke my leg, please send an ambulance to 123 Elm Street. The combination to the lock box is 369. There's a front door key in the box."

 

But I wonder how burglar resistant those lock boxes are? Sorta defeats the purpose of having steel doors with deadbolt locks, if there's an easily available key outside the door. If a 7 year old could break into one of those boxes with a screwdriver, that's probably not the best way to do it.

 

Have any of y'all other folks that live by yourself given any thought to how you would do that? Let an emergency worker into your house when you were sick or injured and unable to move?

We hid a key in an inconspicuous (?) place in our neighbors back yard, just for that reason.

Another way is to give someone you trust a key, and have the emergency personel contact them to meet at the home to open.

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the house I just moved into had an electronic key pad on it.  you can enter the correct combination and the door unlocks.  no key to be found by someone who doesn't belong.  We have a dead bolt that complicates this question, but you wouldn't have to use one.  

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I installed a key less entry door handle when my mom moved in. I also got her one of those life alert pendent things and gave the dispatch a code for the door so if she did fall first responders could enter without breaking the door down.

 

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A few months ago, I got very sick. Could not get out of bed without doing a faceplant. Several times. I had my cell next to me so I called my daughter and told her to call 911 and let them in. They waited a few minutes till she showed up. BTW, those face plants earned me a trip to the big glowing donut. 

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If in doubt get a knox box mounted outside of the structure most Engine Companies have a master to get in the box to gain entry . ( Most EMS and Fire run together on calls ) Tiered Response.

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My mother had one of the medical alert deals on for the last few years that she was alive. The only time she ever used it the EMTs had to force their way in because she had fallen and couldn’t move. She passed away the next day.

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19 minutes ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

Strange people ALWAYS say that they're "special".:D

I never said I was special, just unique...and fearsome, fearless, and positively gorgeous...and a treasure.

 

Half a million American women can't all be wrong.

 

Eat your heart out.  :P

 

Oh, yeah, and I'm also modest and humble. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Oh lord it's hard to be humble

When you're perfect in every way

I can't wait to look in the mirror

'Cuz I get better looking each day

To know me is to love me

I must be a hell of a man

Oh lord it's hard to be humble

But I'm doing the best that I can

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9 hours ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

My mom had a key lock box at her house that the fire department could access. As tough or tougher than the tough door. A bad guy wouldn’t mess with either and just smash through the many available windows. No bad guy gives a rip about a damn key..,

My sister and bro-in-law had the same thing. Only local officials fire and police had access. Not a bad idea!;)

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Howdy,

Those magnetic key boxes can stash a house door key.

The key is not very close to a door.

But easy to tell how to get it.

Back knee or foot pain can stop going to a door.

Best

CR

My folks just left the doors open all day.

 

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21 hours ago, Alpo said:

 

I was thinking about those lock boxes, like they do for realtors. "I think I broke my leg, please send an ambulance to 123 Elm Street. The combination to the lock box is 369. There's a front door key in the box."

 

But I wonder how burglar resistant those lock boxes are? Sorta defeats the purpose of having steel doors with deadbolt locks, if there's an easily available key outside the door. If a 7 year old could break into one of those boxes with a screwdriver, that's probably not the best way to do it.

Alpo, 

you probably do not have to fuss with breaking into the box. Most of the ones I’ve seen are open in the back. All you need is a good pry bar to rip it off the surface where it is mounted. Unless you can mount it so we’ll that it can’t be pried loose it is really only good to keep “honest” people honest.
 

CJ

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3 hours ago, Chili Ron said:

Howdy,

Those magnetic key boxes can stash a house door key.

The key is not very close to a door.

But easy to tell how to get it.

 

I thought about that. "Inside the left rear wheel well of the white bronco there's a magnetic key holder with a front door key. Don't break down my door."


I wonder how well those things actually hang on to a car.

 

 

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Gotta tell you about an EMS call I had years ago.  Patient calls and says she is in the bedroom and cannot move, we are going to have to break in to help.  We are talking to her on the phone to be sure we need to do this.  Yup.  She insists, so we break in.  We can't find her.  She is in her bedroom... in the nursing home 20 miles away!

A lock box or hidden key would have helped.

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I came home one day at the first house that I had and as I drove up I noticed the screen to a double hung window next to the front door was off. I backed down my driveway about 150 ft long and told my wife to go to the neighbors house and call the Sheriff (This was pre cell phone days). I went in to find the window pried open but there was nothing missing or out of place. When the wife got back she said that the Sheriff said EMS had been called because the dentist called o inform one of us about an upcoming appointment. The dentist's office told 911 that when they called the phone was picked up but then there was no answer. The phone was not off the hook. I finally  got the dentist's to not call us for appointments. worked nights and the calls always disturbed my sleep. I had told the receptionist that I was an adult and if I made an appointment I would be there. They got the message finally.

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Will you put all that together into something that is conclusive that makes sense?

 

CatBrules 14086

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It made sense to me.

 

Dustin came home to find that someone had gone into his house through a window.  He left his property and told his wife to go to a neighbor's and call the cops.

 

The police told him that his dentist had called to remind him of an appointment. Someone had picked up the phone and then immediately hung it up. This made the dentist nervous so he called the cops. The cops could not get anyone to answer the door (because Mr and Mrs Checotah were elsewhere) so the cops entered the house through the window.

 

This annoyed Dustin. Not so much that the cops entered his house, but that the dentist took it upon himself to call the law.

 

Dustin chewed the dentist a new one.

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my previous job was as a fireman/emt.  it was rare that we had to breach someone’s door.  we more often got our probie in through an upstairs window or patio door.

 

one old dude had his garage remote w his car keys, we radio’d when we were on scene and he hit the remote.

 

in my couple decades, i only had to use the chicago door opener 7-8 times

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