
If a fire starts in your home, you only have as little as two minutes to escape, according to the American Red Cross. That's why fire safety plans are so important and why it's crucial to have these conversations with any friends or family members who might live with you. But things get a bit more complicated when you have pets in the mix. How do you handle them and how do you ensure they're also able to leave the home safely?
After Redditor thiskatrinaknits asked the online community, "Firefighters of Reddit, what are some ways to help keep pets safe if there's a fire, especially if the owners aren't home?" people weighed in with their advice.
"If you do the test sound once a month..."
Train your pets to come to a specific location in your house/to you when the alarm goes off. If you do the test sound once a month and get them used to going to an exit point when they hear it, they can get out of the house faster when help arrives. If you are home when this happens, you also know where to find them and they will be less likely to be scared and want to hide.
"In my experience..."
Firefighter here: it's truly one of the most pleasing parts of an otherwise terrible day for me to bring someone their pet on the worst day of their life. I absolutely love animals so I will make a sizable personal risk to bring them out safely wether it's a lizard, a fish, a dog, a cat... doesn't matter to me.
The MOST important thing you can do, in my opinion, is make it crystal clear WHO (species) and HOW MANY we're supposed to look for.
In my experience, cats will almost always get out by themselves as soon as we or something opens/breaks a door or window. Dogs will almost always wait by the door they go out to poop from.
"Don't expect your pet..."
Have a sticker on your door about what pets you have. Lets us know what to look for. Close the door to the room they are in. That goes for everyone when they are sleeping. Get working smoke alarms, hopefully someone will hear them before the fire is too far involved. Better yet, get a system that automatically contacts emergency services. Don't expect your pet to get out if you leave an exterior door open. Their instincts are to usually hide rather than escape.
"The best chance of survival..."
I'm a firefighter and I can give some tips and information. I can also give my opinions, but they are mine and not every firefighter's.
First, we put more emphasis on saving people than pets. I know that probably isn't the most popular assertion on Reddit, but it's true. In addition, we will risk less to save a pet. I don't want to inform a spouse that their spouse died saving a cat. Again, not popular but this is reality. We do primary and secondary searches in every structure fire and if we find a pet, we will definitely pull them out. The big issue is that pets run and hide when frightened. Most pets I've found were in a closet or under a bed. Having said all that, here are my ideas:
Fire prevention - if you don't have a fire, your pet will not be in jeopardy. Working smoke alarms (with working batteries and tested once a month) combustibles away from open flame, extension cords used temporarily and not permanently, flammable liquids stored safely, electrical system up to code, etc. Research fire safety and put into practice.
Fire escape plan - create one and practice it with you family, and include pets in it. Assembling everyone in a meeting place, including pets, will ensure everyone is out. While we're at it, include house guests too. Many people forget this.
Tell the responding fire department there is a pet in the house. They will be on the lookout, with the caveats mentioned above.
See if your local FD has pet masks on their trucks. My department does. We just had another successful pet save a few days ago, and the cat is doing fine. It's also great media for the department, so it may be an easy sell, if you wish to encourage them. Some of our pet masks were donated by citizens.
I hope this helps. The best chance of survival is not to have a fire in the first place. Make your homes fire safe!
"You can buy a sticker..."
You can buy a sticker from a pet store that alerts fire fighters to any pets in your home. We put one in the window by our front door.
"Just remember..."
Others have commented good information, so I thought I'd share a photo of me saving a cat from a fire. Mother's Day house fire, upper floor 2 bedrooms involved. We found the cat in the bedroom unconscious from smoke and were able to resuscitate it. Even though the bottom floor of the house was perfectly fine, the cat was hiding upstairs and suffered from smoke inhalation. Just remember, they won't always know to flee the fire, or be able to.
"As far as tips or tricks..."
IAMA FF, and we (my agency and myself) have saved many pets from dogs and cats, to parrots, fish, snakes, and even a tarantula one time. We will always do our best to save any living thing in a fire, but your pet sadly will never be a priority to save in an active firefight. We are looking for humans, if we find a pet, we will 100% grab them and bring them out. All of our apparatus with my agency have pet masks that I've used a few times.
As far as tips or tricks, maybe train your pet to run to the front door when the smoke alarm goes off. I imagine this would be easiest with large mammals like cats and dogs. Those window stickers are a fine idea, but not ever in the forefront of our minds as we approach a working fire.
Letting us know where your pet likely is. What your pet is. And please, for the sake of OUR families, don't send me into your fully engulfed house to find your "baby" that is actually a cat or a dog. One of the scariest close calls I've ever had was going back into a fully engulfed single wide mobile home that my partner and I ended up falling through the floor of while searching for the homeowners "baby".
When we finally got out we were heartbroken and devastated we couldn't find the baby only to see the homeowner holding a small dog saying her baby had made it out. She was willing to sacrifice our lives for her dog, and that's just not okay. As a rule now I make sure to find out if the baby is a human or not before I go inside or send my guys inside.
"While others are giving great advice..."
Professional Career Firefighter/Paramedic here.
While others are giving great advice, realistically it is incredibly difficult to establish a "plan" with your animal. More often than not, they are incredibly aware of the house layout, but can easily become disoriented or panicked in a fire.
The best "tips" are sometimes the exact things we stress to other humans:
- Keep doors closed and rooms isolated, this can keep heat, smoke and fire from other rooms.
- Keep your house less cluttered and never block potential entries or exits.
- Lastly (and I cannot stress this enough), never enter the home again or attempt to find your animal. Let us go inside and get them for you. Many people believe they can save their animal, and don't come back out. We can get in, knock the fire down, and potentially save your animal without the risk of you dying.
And keep in mind..."
Make sure that your pets know where the exits of your home are, and make sure that they would be able to leave through them if there ever was a fire, things such as pet doors are great for this. If you can't do that, make it so that any firefighters who enter (And keep in mind, if it is a volunteer FD like the one I am a part of, that it may take upwards of twenty minutes for everyone to arrive) are able to see any pets that you may have, wether that be directly, or by a sign, marking, etc. If you know that your pet is inside the home when there is a fire, be sure so let someone there know. I'm sorry if this doesn't help a lot, but I am not an interior firefighter currently, though I will be in a few years.
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It's highly believed that it is important to learn history as a means to improve our future.
What is often overlooked is that what is taught in history class is going to be very different depending on where you went to school.
And this isn't just internationally, even different regions of the United states will likely have very different lessons on American history.
This frequently results in our learning fascinating, heartbreaking and horrifying historical facts which our middle or high school history teachers neglected to teach us.
Redditor Acherontia_atropos91 was curious to learn things people either wished they had learned, or believe they should have learned, in their school history class, leading them to ask:
What isn’t taught in history class but should be?
The Irish Troubles
"The troubles."
"Too many people in America do not understand why a wall straight through Ireland would be a BAD idea."
"I’m referring to the Brexit referendum and possible outcomes."
"If people were wondering why we were talking about walls through Ireland in the first place."- CLCVS.
Forgotten elements of World War II
"What the Japanese did to the Chinese during WW2."
"Unit 731."- CaptainMcBoogerJew.
"Japan gets off easy for their war crimes in WW2."
"They killed an estimated 16mil Chinese civilians and another 8mil soldiers"
"Also, Pol Pot."
"Didn't know who he was until I was like 25."
"Worst dictator all time (in terms of percentage of population he decimated)".
The truth about the American Revolution
"That the American Revolution was part of a wider cold war type of conflict with France."
"The American Revolution was basically the UK's equivalent of the US version of Vietnam."- vinsant7.
The Dark side of Swedish history.
"As a Swede, I'd like to know more of all the horrible sh*t my country has done throughout history."
"It's a damn shame we're trying to hide our history."
"For example, Swedes killed a metric sh*t ton of all Polish people when we were at our strongest."
"That's the kinda sh*t we don't get to learn."- mogwandayy.
Colonization
"Basically what Belgium did to the Congo."
"A lot of people are telling me that they are taught about this actually."
"I'm glad to hear it because I wasn't taught about this in the USA during my public school days (1995-2008)."- EconArch.
The truth about "heroes".
"While teaching about historical Heroes they should also tell students about the unspeakable things some of them did."
"Many famous figures throughout history who are pillars of morality actually did many terrible things." - User Deleted
Intolerance for Mental Illness
"The dark history of mental illness treatments."
"I think it's worth learning about."- 7dayexcerpt.
Slavic Mythology
"Slavic mythology in Slavic countries."
"Don't get me wrong, I love both Greek & Roman mythology and as a person from the Balkans both of those cultures are part of my country's history and had great influence over not only my region but the entirety of the continent & the western world but I wouldn't mind knowing more about Slavic mythology as well."- ShorsShezzarine.
The truth about the CIA
"How the CIA was made and all the shady things they did over the years."- ALargeChip.
There is a lot about the history of our world, not to mention our own country which shouldn't be ignored.
And it's from learning from our mistakes that we really improve our future.
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So apparently we are in the endemic phase of this nonsense.
We have light at the end of the tunnel.
So what now?
Where do we go from here?
Normal seems like an outdated word.
How do we get back to normal though?
Is it even possible?
What are reaching back to?
Life pre-Covid.
Those were the days.
If only we could bring them back.
Redditor hetravelingsong wanted to discuss our new normal in this hopeful "endemic" phase. So they asked:
"What’s something random you miss about pre-COVID times?"
I miss people being sane. Though that maybe election cycle issues not COVID. We'll never know.
I thought I was Alone...
"Being able to grocery shop after 11 pm."
Reading_Rainboner
"Hell yes. I miss the days where the Walmart across the street was open 24 hours."
Small_Tax_9432
let's just go...
"I miss spontaneity... everything now seems to have a barrier of difficulty."
iidosee
"I live very close to Disneyland so I have an annual pass. My friends and I would just go there after work and hang out and grab a bite to eat."
"Now, we have to reserve a day to go. And most of the time, the days are at 'full' capacity so we couldn't even reserve. I don't want to schedule to hang out at Disneyland for a couple hours for July. So yeah, I definitely miss the 'lets go eat at Disneyland tonight?' texts."
mymymissmai
Not til 24-25
"Functioning global supply chains. Ah, the product you want has got microchips in it? 9 month wait."
richard-king
"Minimum, I'd been saying for a while now that I wouldn't expect a true return to normalcy in terms of electronics prices till 2024-2025. Although Crypto crashing through the floor really took some of the pressure off graphics cards which I really appreciate."
statiiic
WTF?!?!
"How affordable everything was!"
Disastrous_Hour_6776
"Yep. Today I was bagging up my things at the grocery store and I heard the cashier say to the lady behind me 'thats $78.12.' She had -- 2 boxes of Kellogg's corn flakes, a carton of 12 eggs, milk, strawberries, raspberries, blue berries, a small cheese cake, English muffins, coffee, and a small whole frozen chicken that could maybe feed 3 people if the meat portioning was small."
SnowyInuk
Sushi
"My favorite sushi place. It was good quality, close by, kid-friendly, and not too expensive."
InannasPocket
All of this... it was a simpler time.
NASTY
"As a retail worker, just how f**king NASTY some people have gotten."
DmitriPetrov*itch
"They applauded you for being an essential worker but won’t vote for policies that’ll raise minimum wage while insisting a wage cap for heavily paid employees."
sketchysketchist
CHANGES your DNA...
"Some of the people closest to me became very bitter and petty over the last 2 years. So many people have the 'crazy eyes' now."
__--__7
"So true and holidays with the family is like who has the biggest tinfoil hat building contest. How many jumps does your brain have to go through to think that the Covid vaccine CHANGES your DNA into the patented DNA so that the government now controls your body."
"So like vaccinated people now have a singular DNA set. I feel like I still have a chunk of my brain just broken off due to that comment alone. I was also told by same family member that I could never donate blood again due to the vaccine. I guess it is so my patented DNA doesn't affect people?? FYI my vaccinated butt just donated today fine and multiple other times after the vaccine."
tyreka13
Homeward Bound
"House prices."
adrianinked
"I'm resigned to never thinking I have a chance on owning property where I live. I'm 30 and just can't imagine it anymore. And I don't want to live anywhere else so, whatever."
Osdab2daf
"That didn’t happen because of the pandemic. That was already happening regardless."
CH11DW
Oh Mickey
"All Day Breakfast at McDonalds."
hutch2522
"It was honestly hell to do, and not very popular. ITs margins aren't anywhere dinner and lunch specials. ON top of that, the temperatures are such that They require its own grill, meaning that if you have 2 grills in shop, you are down 50% of lunch capacity."
Freyas_Follower
Way back when...
"Hanging out with friends. And I mean waaaaaay before Covid. Like 2006 back when I had some friends."
LoocsinatasYT
I miss the old days. Maybe we'll get back there.
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What do you believe?
Is there a GOD in the sky?
Is he guiding us and helping us?
Life is really hard. Why is that is a big entity is up there loving us?
Atheists have taken a lot of heat for what feels like shunning GOD.
What if they've been right all along?
Maybe let's take a listen and see what they really think.
Redditor __Jacob______ wanted to hear from the people who don't really believe all that "God" stuff. They asked:
"Atheists, what do you believe in?"
I'm waffling between G-O-D and nothing. So please give me some education.
911
"We need to look out for each other because help isn't coming."
cknipe
Peace Out
"More than 2 decades ago, a priest was giving a sermon in my church and he said 'our faith requires you to believe without question. Why call it faith if you have to ask questions?' I haven't returned to church. Not until my wedding day but you know what I mean."
asiangontear
Delusion
"When I was young I used to think that after death you would have access to a PC that you could see absolutely anything about your life. Stats, any question you had no matter how obscure, replays of moments, perspectives of others in relation to you. No matter what you wanted to know, if it was relatable to you, you could see it. I know it's silly, but as time goes on I just want it to be real, and I don't think I'd have any issue allowing myself to fall into that delusion."
eggwardpenisglands
I think nothing happens...
"Realistically, I think nothing happens. We literally experience nothing after death. Same thing that we experience before birth. We don't exist, so it's nothing. I think the tenant that we should follow while living is to try to be happy and healthy while minimizing the damage we do to each other."
"What I would LIKE to happen after death is whatever you believe in, exists. I think Christians should get to go to heaven if they truly believe in it, Hindus and Buddhists get reincarnated, and everyone else also gets to experience what they believe they will experience."
"'I would still experience Nothing. Maybe it's one of those things where at the moment of death their brain makes them experience what feels like an infinitely long moment in time where they experience their afterlife. I just think it would be neat for everybody."
Better_Meat_
Shrug
"Best advice I received from a dear senior on their way out. 'You win some, you lose some' shrug. Nothing divine, life is that simple and wonderful, accept it and move on."
Tune_Kindly
It all sounds pretty simple. Why are people so up in arms about Atheists?
Whatever
"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people that do."
imCIK
Cool with Empty
"Nothing. [Serious]."
rumblingtummy29
"I feel this way about death. When I was 5, my grandfather died and my cousin simple said, he is dead, that means you are gone forever. Everything ends up dying, even plants and animals. I'm now in my 40's and still have this simplistic view of life and death. People think I'm ambivalent to life and death but it's just what it is."
thepigfish82
puppet-masters...
"I think a lot of religious people struggle with the fact that we are all just swirling units of chaos. There is no grand plan or great orchestrator. I think that’s why people who are prone to religion are also susceptible to things like Q anon and the Cabal and all that. They REALLY want to believe that there is some almighty puppet-master who determines all of humanity’s fate."
Lngtmelrker
“we’re living in a society!”
"Just be a kind and empathetic person not because you’re worried about some cosmic justice, but because it’s the right thing to do. If there is some being that created us there’s no way they actually care about believing in it or adhering to some rules from over 2000 years ago."
"Also a big thing for me is that I find the idea that you need religion or the Bible in order to have morals and ethics pretty dumb. It’s pretty f**king clear that most evangelicals have neither. But my main thing is being a good person simply because, as George Costanza once said we’re living in a society!' If you’re only a good person in order to make it to heaven you probably aren’t actually a good and moral person."
conservative_genius
That's All
"You're born. You live. You die. That's it. After you die you cease to exist, the same as before you were born."
serefina
Believe what you want. We're all here together. So let's focus there.
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The list of what irritates me is endless.
I mean... breathing too loud or dust can set me off.
I'm a bit unstable, yes.
But I'm not alone.
So let's discuss.
Redditor Aburntbagel6 wanted to hear about all the times many of us just couldn't control our disdain. They asked:
"What never fails to piss you off?"
I feel like this article can go on forever. Let's get some highlights.
Wasted Time
"Meetings that could and should have been an email."
Sirena609
Lotto People
"Getting stuck behind people playing the lottery at a corner store."
thenuggetlover
"I also used to work in a gas station and you’re SO right. I f**king hated the lottery people. Especially since my store had a small staff and there was usually only one of us working at a time, which meant that I couldn’t get any of my other work done as long as they were there."
"And you’re right, it’s also pretty sad to watch. I had one lady who used to come in every day and spent hundreds and HUNDREDS of dollars on scratch tickets. One day, she won $200 after spending probably around $600 and she was so excited and saying she can 'finally pay her bills.'"
i-am-your-god-now
Aware...
"No situational awareness. Job, home, shopping, driving. Think for one minute and go about. OBSERVE!!"
Dizzy-Foundation8122
"My mom is one of those people who leave the shopping cart in the middle of the damn aisle and proceed to walk twenty feet away. After correcting her a million times to no effect I just walk away now so people don’t know I’m with her."
OutrageousEvent
Shut Up!
"Endless barking in the middle of the night, I love animals but that sh*t I can't stand."
Acceptable-Lemon2924
"Endless barking in general drives me up a wall. One of my friends dogs was barking almost an entire gaming session the other day. I wanted to reach through the computer and smack him for letting it go on."
bangersnmash13
Kindness
"People being mean to service workers, especially if the workers are very young."'
scaryboilednoodles
All of these things. I hate them all.
Admit It
"People who never accept fault when they mess something up. Like, why blame a million people when it was clearly you who did it???"
Quirky-Area-8978
From Above
"My upstairs neighbors."
lutzow89
"I had terrible neighbors at my previous apartment. It was a one person studio for students, but her boyfriend was clearly living with her illegally and he was loud."
"One night we knocked n the door at 3 AM because of the loud music and an unknown girl opened the door. I just thought they were having a little party. But the next door I saw the girl living there come home with a suitcase after having been away for the weekend... Her BF was cheating on her in her own apartment."
Th3_Accountant
Move Away
"People who sit directly next to me at the airport, movie theater, any other place where you can choose a seat when there is PLENTY of other seating."
BacardiPardy33
"I can’t YES this enough and the ones who can’t park for crap so they park so close you can’t open doors on one side of the car or the ones who park directly behind when you pulled through so the door won’t open to load groceries."
BacardiPardy33
It's Over
"People who try to restart old drama. Like I'm done with you, just leave me alone."
Tired_Potatos
"Yep, half the reason I've basically quit playing one of my favorite online video games. People keep bringing old crap up or sh*tting on on someone who used to be our friend. I got tired of it so I just ejected the game out of me."
CaucasianHumus
AHHHHH!!!
"People walking too slow in front of me with no way to get around them. It’s even worse if it’s a couple or group taking up the whole sidewalk. HAVE SOME SPATIAL AWARENESS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!"
_-v0x-_
Life in general pisses me off. I'm easy.
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