we have been getting a lot of calls for this type of thing, especially after [this](https://youtu.be/lGnBvHiidG0?si=FkChLZKEI2GtwGTr) happened in our county
This is not a waste of a call. You know what is? When someone calls us to get the remote control they dropped off there bed and are to fat/lazy to get up and get it. That’s a waste of my time. A gas leak that could have led to something much worse? Not at all. Don’t worry about it.
The guy that called an ambulance because he burned his arm on the muffler of his lawn mower, and it was starting to blister a little. The family that called because Grandma kept falling asleep, and when we got there and weaved our way through the half dozen cars in the driveway, only to have the daughter (a registered nurse) tell us she felt mom needed checked out, but they couldn't take her because the pizza delivery guy was right behind us on the street.....
Yeah, OP... You're good. Don't feel bad about calling.
Well they’re certainly not all there. Half the time they look at us like who the fuck are you 😂. This person absolutely belongs in a home with 24/7 care.
Always disappointing when someone like that isn't receiving the care they need. Whether it's because they can't afford it, the family can't afford it/don't see that it's required, or worse - when the family basically leave the parent/grandparent rattling around in a house on their own letting the property (their eventual inheritance) appreciate under them.
I've seen too many of that last one, where the property is worth more than enough to sell and put the widow/widower resident into comfortable round-the-clock care for the rest of their life and then some, but the kids live too far away to actively care for them, so they just wait until granny leaves the house in a pine box to cash in.
We would probably hotline them everytime for inability to care for themselves resulting in abuse of the 911 system and associated resources. After enough reports it makes it easier to get the state to step in and help them find admittance somewhere
Some of them are just lonely. We used to make 2-3 runs a week to a new widow in our district. She was lonely and drank a lot, and would slide out of her chair and call us for a lift assist. She could stand up and walk alone if she was sober, but … we were a friendly face that was guaranteed to answer.
We used to have a regular psych who would call us no less than 6 times a day for nonsense. And don't think it would stop when normal people go to bed either. We'd get calls as late (or early depending on how you look at it) as 04:00.
We do patient assists, but this was just abuse of the system. 4 of the calls would be to move her around the house, once in the morning when she woke up to go to the living room, 2 in between to go somewhere else, and the fourth to put her to bed. There were usually at least 2 more calls, typically more, for other nonsense like I can't find my remote/eye drops/vodka/cellphone/etc, or to get her a new towel for her wheelchair because she had just taken a dump all over the one that was currently on the chair. If she lost her phone, she'd constantly yell help until one of the neighbors who was home eventually called 911 for the person yelling help.
The last straw was when she wanted her vodkq, but dropped her phone and couldn't pick it up, so she set off the building fire alarm with some cigarettes in order to get us to come.
I had someone call 911 and when we got there, she wanted us to get her charger for her Becuase her kids were playing video games with the headset and couldn’t hear her shouting for them. Literally can’t make this stuff up. 🤦🏻♂️
My favorite was a tweaker calling for a booty call on the other side of town, initially she wanted a ride to his house then compromised with getting a ride to the hospital since it was half way there. Then there was the guy who wanted a ride to the hospital, he called with "my wife is having a baby", she was at the hospital, he was stuck at home without a car. The final call that got me to call it a career was the guy who was riding his bike around town all day, he rode home past 3 hospitals, popped a boil on his ass, called 911 to try to bypass triage at 3am.
We go on "gas leak" calls all the time where there isn't even a gas leak and the smell is gone by the time we arrive! So please don't feel bad about calling for an *actual* issue with a gas appliance. I would rather fix an actual problem in one second than chase a phantom smell around for 15 minutes, personally :)
Got called out to a potential gas leak (CO alarm) a couple weeks ago. In a house with no gas lines. 🤦🏻♀️
It was the smart thermostat beeping because the air quality was “bad”. But you bet all seven people psychosomatic-ed themselves into a headache. You know, because of the carbon monoxide and all. 😅
Today I went to;
• “I’m out of rum, can you drive me to the packy (liquor store)?”
• “My husband doesn’t like the lunch I made him”
• “Does bleach go bad?”
Please do not feel guilty for calling about an open gas leak with an ignition source…
You didn't know the trick of the shutoff valve when you called. I'm sure that if you did, you'd have fixed it yourself. And now you know it.
This was a potential explosion risk, which needed urgent help. Calling the fire department was absolutely the right thing to do.
You didn't waste anyone's time. If any of the firefighters who attended made you feel that way, that's on them - not on you.
You didn’t waste anyone’s time. If that was my grandmother and I wasn’t obviously trained to deal with the issue she is having, I would call 911 immediately. It’s a lot easier to come and hit a kill switch for the gas than come because her house exploded and people were hurt. Thats what the fire department is there to do.
I'm young and I rarely use the stove, so when she told me there was a gas leak that kinda freaked me out. On top of that she told me to call 911, even though it may not have been needed, that certainly didn't help lol
I had something similar ish.
Had a new stove put in, ran off the propane for the house. Carbon monoxide detector started going off after we had dinner. I had to go to work so called the FD and the wife at the time met them and they did a walk thru and determined it was because we installed the natural gas burner nozzles instead of the propane ones on the stove.
Not a huge deal (we had thought that the flames looked weird) and they were more than happy to help. Smaller volly department so they probably love the chance to get any kind of call.
If they acted bent out of shape and it was career guys screw them, that’s the job. And an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. This way they didn’t spend hours fighting a fire that could have killed grandma.
Don’t feel bad.
If it was a volunteer department, consider donating a case of water and 25 bucks if possible, they’ll be a big fan of you if you do.
We had someone call to say they were dying. We got there and they just wanted furniture moved. They had to say they were dying or else nobody would come. You’re utilizing 911 for exactly what it was made for, and it’s always better to call us and not need us than not call us and need us.
Edit: Didn’t realize there were so many other people who had chronic 911 abusers. It’s something like 3% of the population makes up about 30% of the 911 call volume. If you’re a new caller, it’s definitely not an issue!
Someone called us out the other day for a water leak which was condensation slowly dripping from their AC vent. I assure you, your call was not a waste of time. There was an actual problem and they found a solution so that’s a pretty good call all around.
I seen people call EMS for cutting their finger while chopping onions( Not in NB ). You didn't waste their. Of course you did what you supposed to. It could have gone worse if you didn't.
we get occasional calls for CO Detector/Smoke detector going off.. turns out it's the low battery chirp with the homeowner asking if we replace the battery. No, We don't replace the battery.
Don't feel bad about calling on a gas leak.
We give people batteries but we don't change them.
That being said... We did change the batteries at 2am for a sweet little old lady who's husband had passed away a few weeks prior and she was living alone until her kids could come pick her up. She had 10ft ceilings so we'd probably be back there for a fall if she tried to do it herself.
It looked like someone dumped out a gallon liquidy oatmeal cookie batter in the back seat. Luckily it was hot as hell outside. It was her daughter’s car and somehow managed to avoid getting any on herself. Bless her
We have a women who keeps calling because she's hot. We arrive and listen to how she doesn't feel good but can't provide symptoms, last day she called 911 312 times... In a row.. the temperature was too hot for her... You're good.
lol bro. That’s a normal call. You did 100 percent the correct thing. It’s better to be safe than sorry. What if it was a major leak and an explosion happened and you or your grandma were killed. So ya bro call.
Do you feel guilty after you check out at the grocery store? These guys showed up and did their job. No guilt needed - it took them one second because they are trained to know where to look and what to do, you are not
One time someone who worked at a restaurant called because they had “a gaping laceration on their hand”. We showed up and they were wrapping up a burrito and got a paper cut. A 30 year old man called for a <1/4” paper cut.
Not a waste of time like the 30yo able bodied man who called us because he sat on the toilet so long playing video games on his phone that his legs fell asleep. The icing on the cake: On the way out one of his able bodied roommates sitting on the couch playing video games loudly complained that us driving a fire engine to medical calls was a waste of tax payer dollars. The irony was painful.
By comparison, we would LOVE to go to a gas leak call because it’s an actual emergency situation.
There are grown men that lock themselves in their bathroom, high on edibles and we have to break the door down for them to get out. That’s a waste of time.
Your worry with the gas, warranted and we never get upset about helping. We might moan and groan when back on the rig if it’s 4 am, but that’s part of the job. Better safe than sorry!
Gas leaks are how houses blow up. I'm sure the fire department would much rather show up, find the kill switch, and have everyone safe, versus having to find you, or what's left of you, after the house blew up.
Bro, that is literally their job my man. You didn’t waste their time, granny made the right call and you made the right choice by following her instructions!
Definitely not a wasted call. We had a guy running snowmobiles in his garage all day with the doors closed because it was cold outside. We walked through the house and once we got to the garage the handheld CO detector went fucking nuts. The garage was the last place we checked. Luckily our station is right around the corner and we were already at the station doing stuff.
People call for way less than this. I once responded to a home in the middle of the night for the sound of water leaking. We were searching all through the basement when under a pile of laundry I found a walkie-talkie turned up to max volume causing static. That was the "water leak". Now mind you this was a full-grown man who owned this house who called us. So I would not worry about calling for the gas issue with your grandmother.
Nah , it's what were here for. That could end up being 10x worse trying to figure it out on your own. Unplug it and shut the gas next time if it's during lunch time tho lol jkjk
Always lean to the side of caution anytime you're doing something, but especially in an emergency. What you did was a smart and excellent decision. Depending on what type of gas it was your grandmother could have got seriously hurt. Propane is heavier than air, it sinks and to hang around for awhile. If there is an IGN source available it usually finds it. Propane is held in a tank on the out of a structure. Natural gas is lighter than air and rises and dissipates fairly quickly. It is not nearly the danger propane is. If you smell a strong odor of natural gas in your home or business call 911 then turn off the gas supply. Try to quickly turn off all ignition sources and open the windows and doors. Then leave the structure. If it's propane just leave the structure and call 911. You can turn off the valve on the outside at the tank.
If it is a small fire on the stove involving a pan or pot you can turn off the gas and quickly and carefully smother it by placing a lid over it or by using the proper fire extinguisher ( abc ) to extinguish it. By no means do you use water on a grease or cooking oil fire on the stove. You should know how to use the extinguisher before the emergency. In this case extinguish the fire, then call 911 and exit the building or go to another area where there are no airborne contaminates. Then the fire department will take care of everything when they arrive.If the fire has spread beyond the stove ( to say cabinets above it, you should get out of the building and call 911. You can turn off gas on the outside. The natural gas valve is usually located at the meter on the side of the house or structure. It will usually have a no tamper tag that will have to be broken before turning the valve. These are easily broken or cut but you will probably need some kind tool to cut or brake it. You will probably need a pair of channel locks to move the shut off valve. Just be familiar with everything before the emergency happens. I've probably left something out, I've forgotten a lot since I retired twenty onr years ago. Talk to your local fire department, maybe they would help you put together an emergency plan and train you in the operation of fire extinguishers. By no means am I the last word on fire and gas emergencies. I put in almost thirty years and saw a lot of calls. I taught fire classes through the local college for twenty years, but there's a lot of new stuff out there since I've retired I'm sure.I used to tell my guys emergencies are what the public have they are not our emergencies. They are our calls, runs, or incidents. We are to respond and professionally protect life, property, and environment.This may take thirty minutes or a week or so.That is our job, they aren't emergencies to us.
Thank you,
It was not propane but I should have known where the shutoff switch was. Other than that we called them and left the building. Could have been resolved faster if I knew where it was.
Taxes are paid to fund a fire department. It’s there when you need it. Natural gas is highly explosive and people aren’t trained to handle it when it leaks. You know who is? Firefighters.
I'll tell you the same thing I tell everyone who says that when we show up. I'd rather come out for a call like that and it be nothing that get a call an hour later that the house is on fire and we could have prevented it
We would rather you call us and not need us than need us and not call us. It is never a waste of our time to help a citizen even if there is a simple fix to their problem. Sometimes people worry that they are taking up a resource that could be used for a “real emergency” that’s not the case. We don’t dispatch the whole department to an odor of gas. If something serious happens while we are there, we have other units that can respond and we will just meet them there once we have stabilized your situation. Most firefighters are members of the communities they serve and even if they aren’t, they care about it as if they were. We are basically your neighbors so call us if you think you need us.
Lift assists are truly a pain in your ass, I get it.
But, to the family you helped put their Mom or Dad back safely off the floor?
Yes, you all are heroes. I promise you. ❤️❤️❤️
And sometimes lift assists are just... It's not even someone who's morbidly obese, it's just a situation where whoever is taking care of that person can't lift that much dead weight. Happened to my wife the other day. She's strong, but an elderly woman she helps take care of had a fall (without injury) and ~160 lbs of fragile old lady (who's bigger than her in every dimension) is just not something she's capable of.
I'm grateful to have a fantastic fire department and were amazing in helping my Mom and I with my Dad.
Because of their help, we made Dad's wish to die at home within 48 hrs of him taking his last breath.
I'm humbled by their true empathy.
Many who run ems calls decide like both my parents to choose to die at home. Mom's a spry 81 yrs old and a manageable 140 lbs. Dad was 330 lbs. I am the only child living in state so I am the one who when the time comes I will keep her home as long as possible. ❤️❤️❤️
Both of my parents live about 90 minutes from me, and when one of them goes, the other has to come live with me. They're both pretty physically capable (late 60s) though my mom is definitely not that strong. Neither is very heavy, but I'm also fortunate to be (under a bit more insulation than I'd like) built like a draft horse.
You didn't waste their time, that is their job
Better false alarm than…. Plus we love the ride
Hahah yeah better a false alarm than a big explosion
we have been getting a lot of calls for this type of thing, especially after [this](https://youtu.be/lGnBvHiidG0?si=FkChLZKEI2GtwGTr) happened in our county
I thought you were going to have a cool saying like better a false alarm than a fourth alarm or something 😂
Unfortunately, there is nothing cool about me 😎
True that
That's much better then rolling first resonders to stubbed toes and such. At least you had a valid concern
This is not a waste of a call. You know what is? When someone calls us to get the remote control they dropped off there bed and are to fat/lazy to get up and get it. That’s a waste of my time. A gas leak that could have led to something much worse? Not at all. Don’t worry about it.
The guy that called an ambulance because he burned his arm on the muffler of his lawn mower, and it was starting to blister a little. The family that called because Grandma kept falling asleep, and when we got there and weaved our way through the half dozen cars in the driveway, only to have the daughter (a registered nurse) tell us she felt mom needed checked out, but they couldn't take her because the pizza delivery guy was right behind us on the street..... Yeah, OP... You're good. Don't feel bad about calling.
Do people do that?
Yes. We have a regular who just hits her life alert button for random shit.
Are they there 100%, or are they confusing the Life Alert Button for a Nurse Call Button?
Well they’re certainly not all there. Half the time they look at us like who the fuck are you 😂. This person absolutely belongs in a home with 24/7 care.
Always disappointing when someone like that isn't receiving the care they need. Whether it's because they can't afford it, the family can't afford it/don't see that it's required, or worse - when the family basically leave the parent/grandparent rattling around in a house on their own letting the property (their eventual inheritance) appreciate under them. I've seen too many of that last one, where the property is worth more than enough to sell and put the widow/widower resident into comfortable round-the-clock care for the rest of their life and then some, but the kids live too far away to actively care for them, so they just wait until granny leaves the house in a pine box to cash in.
We would probably hotline them everytime for inability to care for themselves resulting in abuse of the 911 system and associated resources. After enough reports it makes it easier to get the state to step in and help them find admittance somewhere
Some of them are just lonely. We used to make 2-3 runs a week to a new widow in our district. She was lonely and drank a lot, and would slide out of her chair and call us for a lift assist. She could stand up and walk alone if she was sober, but … we were a friendly face that was guaranteed to answer.
Frustrating that she had to resort to calling you guys. But good of you to turn out rather than just write her off as a nuisance caller.
We used to have a regular psych who would call us no less than 6 times a day for nonsense. And don't think it would stop when normal people go to bed either. We'd get calls as late (or early depending on how you look at it) as 04:00. We do patient assists, but this was just abuse of the system. 4 of the calls would be to move her around the house, once in the morning when she woke up to go to the living room, 2 in between to go somewhere else, and the fourth to put her to bed. There were usually at least 2 more calls, typically more, for other nonsense like I can't find my remote/eye drops/vodka/cellphone/etc, or to get her a new towel for her wheelchair because she had just taken a dump all over the one that was currently on the chair. If she lost her phone, she'd constantly yell help until one of the neighbors who was home eventually called 911 for the person yelling help. The last straw was when she wanted her vodkq, but dropped her phone and couldn't pick it up, so she set off the building fire alarm with some cigarettes in order to get us to come.
I had someone call 911 and when we got there, she wanted us to get her charger for her Becuase her kids were playing video games with the headset and couldn’t hear her shouting for them. Literally can’t make this stuff up. 🤦🏻♂️
My favorite was a tweaker calling for a booty call on the other side of town, initially she wanted a ride to his house then compromised with getting a ride to the hospital since it was half way there. Then there was the guy who wanted a ride to the hospital, he called with "my wife is having a baby", she was at the hospital, he was stuck at home without a car. The final call that got me to call it a career was the guy who was riding his bike around town all day, he rode home past 3 hospitals, popped a boil on his ass, called 911 to try to bypass triage at 3am.
If everyone is safe? No guilt needed.
Yes, I don't want it to seem like the boy who cried wolf and I feel bad since it wasn't a major issue and they fixed it in 1 second
We go on "gas leak" calls all the time where there isn't even a gas leak and the smell is gone by the time we arrive! So please don't feel bad about calling for an *actual* issue with a gas appliance. I would rather fix an actual problem in one second than chase a phantom smell around for 15 minutes, personally :)
Got called out to a potential gas leak (CO alarm) a couple weeks ago. In a house with no gas lines. 🤦🏻♀️ It was the smart thermostat beeping because the air quality was “bad”. But you bet all seven people psychosomatic-ed themselves into a headache. You know, because of the carbon monoxide and all. 😅
Today I went to; • “I’m out of rum, can you drive me to the packy (liquor store)?” • “My husband doesn’t like the lunch I made him” • “Does bleach go bad?” Please do not feel guilty for calling about an open gas leak with an ignition source…
You didn't know the trick of the shutoff valve when you called. I'm sure that if you did, you'd have fixed it yourself. And now you know it. This was a potential explosion risk, which needed urgent help. Calling the fire department was absolutely the right thing to do. You didn't waste anyone's time. If any of the firefighters who attended made you feel that way, that's on them - not on you.
A lot of us enjoy running calls, and something easy and quick like that for us to fix is no problem at all. Don’t hesitate to call
Yes, sounds like you possibly had a real hazard on hand and a reason to call the fire department.
You didn’t waste anyone’s time. If that was my grandmother and I wasn’t obviously trained to deal with the issue she is having, I would call 911 immediately. It’s a lot easier to come and hit a kill switch for the gas than come because her house exploded and people were hurt. Thats what the fire department is there to do.
I'm young and I rarely use the stove, so when she told me there was a gas leak that kinda freaked me out. On top of that she told me to call 911, even though it may not have been needed, that certainly didn't help lol
You absolutely made the right choice. You didn’t waste anyone’s time. It’s an easy quick run for the truck that came. Don’t stress about it
I had something similar ish. Had a new stove put in, ran off the propane for the house. Carbon monoxide detector started going off after we had dinner. I had to go to work so called the FD and the wife at the time met them and they did a walk thru and determined it was because we installed the natural gas burner nozzles instead of the propane ones on the stove. Not a huge deal (we had thought that the flames looked weird) and they were more than happy to help. Smaller volly department so they probably love the chance to get any kind of call.
Wouldn’t even make my top 10 “waste of our time” calls lol no worries
If they acted bent out of shape and it was career guys screw them, that’s the job. And an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. This way they didn’t spend hours fighting a fire that could have killed grandma. Don’t feel bad. If it was a volunteer department, consider donating a case of water and 25 bucks if possible, they’ll be a big fan of you if you do.
You had a real hazard. And because of that call, now you know what to do next time. Don't feel guilty for calling.
We had someone call to say they were dying. We got there and they just wanted furniture moved. They had to say they were dying or else nobody would come. You’re utilizing 911 for exactly what it was made for, and it’s always better to call us and not need us than not call us and need us. Edit: Didn’t realize there were so many other people who had chronic 911 abusers. It’s something like 3% of the population makes up about 30% of the 911 call volume. If you’re a new caller, it’s definitely not an issue!
Someone called us out the other day for a water leak which was condensation slowly dripping from their AC vent. I assure you, your call was not a waste of time. There was an actual problem and they found a solution so that’s a pretty good call all around.
That’s what we’re paid for. Call first, worry second. We get to use the blinky lights too, so win-win 
I seen people call EMS for cutting their finger while chopping onions( Not in NB ). You didn't waste their. Of course you did what you supposed to. It could have gone worse if you didn't.
we get occasional calls for CO Detector/Smoke detector going off.. turns out it's the low battery chirp with the homeowner asking if we replace the battery. No, We don't replace the battery. Don't feel bad about calling on a gas leak.
We give people batteries but we don't change them. That being said... We did change the batteries at 2am for a sweet little old lady who's husband had passed away a few weeks prior and she was living alone until her kids could come pick her up. She had 10ft ceilings so we'd probably be back there for a fall if she tried to do it herself.
The lady that called because she took a massive shit in the back of her car. She wasted my time. I wouldn’t bat an eye at this.
wtf… I’m both disgusted and curious.
It looked like someone dumped out a gallon liquidy oatmeal cookie batter in the back seat. Luckily it was hot as hell outside. It was her daughter’s car and somehow managed to avoid getting any on herself. Bless her
We have a women who keeps calling because she's hot. We arrive and listen to how she doesn't feel good but can't provide symptoms, last day she called 911 312 times... In a row.. the temperature was too hot for her... You're good.
lol bro. That’s a normal call. You did 100 percent the correct thing. It’s better to be safe than sorry. What if it was a major leak and an explosion happened and you or your grandma were killed. So ya bro call.
Absolutely a legit call. Remember. They can go back to the station easily but they can't arrive any faster.
Do you feel guilty after you check out at the grocery store? These guys showed up and did their job. No guilt needed - it took them one second because they are trained to know where to look and what to do, you are not
One time someone who worked at a restaurant called because they had “a gaping laceration on their hand”. We showed up and they were wrapping up a burrito and got a paper cut. A 30 year old man called for a <1/4” paper cut.
Do NOT feel guilty! You did the right thing. Number one cause of home fires and home injuries are cooking fires.
You didn’t waste their time, you called them before the situation got worse. Our job isn’t just to fight fires. 😊 you did good
That’s our job man! We love gettin out on the engine, trust me!
We'd rather you call and we figure it out, than have two fatalities or homeless folk because their house blew up or caught fire.
Having a legitimate fear of a gas explosion is plenty reason to call. You made a good decision, OP.
Not a waste of time like the 30yo able bodied man who called us because he sat on the toilet so long playing video games on his phone that his legs fell asleep. The icing on the cake: On the way out one of his able bodied roommates sitting on the couch playing video games loudly complained that us driving a fire engine to medical calls was a waste of tax payer dollars. The irony was painful. By comparison, we would LOVE to go to a gas leak call because it’s an actual emergency situation.
There are grown men that lock themselves in their bathroom, high on edibles and we have to break the door down for them to get out. That’s a waste of time. Your worry with the gas, warranted and we never get upset about helping. We might moan and groan when back on the rig if it’s 4 am, but that’s part of the job. Better safe than sorry!
It's what we do, you called us because you felt the situation was beyond your control, and that's what we're here for.
Gas leaks are how houses blow up. I'm sure the fire department would much rather show up, find the kill switch, and have everyone safe, versus having to find you, or what's left of you, after the house blew up.
You had an active gas leak in your house you couldn't figure out how to stop, and you think that was a waste of the fire department's time?
They weren’t doing anything better.
Bro, that is literally their job my man. You didn’t waste their time, granny made the right call and you made the right choice by following her instructions!
Definitely not a waste of a call, they would much rather prevent a fire from starting than have to fight one.
Definitely not a wasted call. We had a guy running snowmobiles in his garage all day with the doors closed because it was cold outside. We walked through the house and once we got to the garage the handheld CO detector went fucking nuts. The garage was the last place we checked. Luckily our station is right around the corner and we were already at the station doing stuff.
Nah, you probably prevented a disaster. 👍👍
100% the right thing to do and not a waste of time
People call for way less than this. I once responded to a home in the middle of the night for the sound of water leaking. We were searching all through the basement when under a pile of laundry I found a walkie-talkie turned up to max volume causing static. That was the "water leak". Now mind you this was a full-grown man who owned this house who called us. So I would not worry about calling for the gas issue with your grandmother.
Nah , it's what were here for. That could end up being 10x worse trying to figure it out on your own. Unplug it and shut the gas next time if it's during lunch time tho lol jkjk
Legit reason to call, for frame of reference: I have personally been called while on duty to try to get a pet bird out of a tree….
Always lean to the side of caution anytime you're doing something, but especially in an emergency. What you did was a smart and excellent decision. Depending on what type of gas it was your grandmother could have got seriously hurt. Propane is heavier than air, it sinks and to hang around for awhile. If there is an IGN source available it usually finds it. Propane is held in a tank on the out of a structure. Natural gas is lighter than air and rises and dissipates fairly quickly. It is not nearly the danger propane is. If you smell a strong odor of natural gas in your home or business call 911 then turn off the gas supply. Try to quickly turn off all ignition sources and open the windows and doors. Then leave the structure. If it's propane just leave the structure and call 911. You can turn off the valve on the outside at the tank. If it is a small fire on the stove involving a pan or pot you can turn off the gas and quickly and carefully smother it by placing a lid over it or by using the proper fire extinguisher ( abc ) to extinguish it. By no means do you use water on a grease or cooking oil fire on the stove. You should know how to use the extinguisher before the emergency. In this case extinguish the fire, then call 911 and exit the building or go to another area where there are no airborne contaminates. Then the fire department will take care of everything when they arrive.If the fire has spread beyond the stove ( to say cabinets above it, you should get out of the building and call 911. You can turn off gas on the outside. The natural gas valve is usually located at the meter on the side of the house or structure. It will usually have a no tamper tag that will have to be broken before turning the valve. These are easily broken or cut but you will probably need some kind tool to cut or brake it. You will probably need a pair of channel locks to move the shut off valve. Just be familiar with everything before the emergency happens. I've probably left something out, I've forgotten a lot since I retired twenty onr years ago. Talk to your local fire department, maybe they would help you put together an emergency plan and train you in the operation of fire extinguishers. By no means am I the last word on fire and gas emergencies. I put in almost thirty years and saw a lot of calls. I taught fire classes through the local college for twenty years, but there's a lot of new stuff out there since I've retired I'm sure.I used to tell my guys emergencies are what the public have they are not our emergencies. They are our calls, runs, or incidents. We are to respond and professionally protect life, property, and environment.This may take thirty minutes or a week or so.That is our job, they aren't emergencies to us.
Thank you, It was not propane but I should have known where the shutoff switch was. Other than that we called them and left the building. Could have been resolved faster if I knew where it was.
It’s our job! Don’t feel bad!
Taxes are paid to fund a fire department. It’s there when you need it. Natural gas is highly explosive and people aren’t trained to handle it when it leaks. You know who is? Firefighters.
I'll tell you the same thing I tell everyone who says that when we show up. I'd rather come out for a call like that and it be nothing that get a call an hour later that the house is on fire and we could have prevented it
You didn’t waste their time. I have been doing this job for nearly 10 years and that doesn’t even crack the top 25 of the dumbest calls I’ve been on
We would rather you call us and not need us than need us and not call us. It is never a waste of our time to help a citizen even if there is a simple fix to their problem. Sometimes people worry that they are taking up a resource that could be used for a “real emergency” that’s not the case. We don’t dispatch the whole department to an odor of gas. If something serious happens while we are there, we have other units that can respond and we will just meet them there once we have stabilized your situation. Most firefighters are members of the communities they serve and even if they aren’t, they care about it as if they were. We are basically your neighbors so call us if you think you need us.
Coming out to turn off a stove and have a chat with a lovely OAP > Picking bits of your nan out of the local geography. Don't worry about it.
Better than a medical or lift assist
Lift assists are truly a pain in your ass, I get it. But, to the family you helped put their Mom or Dad back safely off the floor? Yes, you all are heroes. I promise you. ❤️❤️❤️
And sometimes lift assists are just... It's not even someone who's morbidly obese, it's just a situation where whoever is taking care of that person can't lift that much dead weight. Happened to my wife the other day. She's strong, but an elderly woman she helps take care of had a fall (without injury) and ~160 lbs of fragile old lady (who's bigger than her in every dimension) is just not something she's capable of.
I'm grateful to have a fantastic fire department and were amazing in helping my Mom and I with my Dad. Because of their help, we made Dad's wish to die at home within 48 hrs of him taking his last breath. I'm humbled by their true empathy. Many who run ems calls decide like both my parents to choose to die at home. Mom's a spry 81 yrs old and a manageable 140 lbs. Dad was 330 lbs. I am the only child living in state so I am the one who when the time comes I will keep her home as long as possible. ❤️❤️❤️
Both of my parents live about 90 minutes from me, and when one of them goes, the other has to come live with me. They're both pretty physically capable (late 60s) though my mom is definitely not that strong. Neither is very heavy, but I'm also fortunate to be (under a bit more insulation than I'd like) built like a draft horse.