How cute were the fire fighters who came to inspect the office today?

[Food Lady]

So cute that I considered lighting my trash can on fire!

I made a comment to my boss and cubemate stood up and showed us her cigarette lighters. Boss Lady said "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

[mjr]

Food Lady and cute firefighters,
sitting in a tree...

[dalesys]

My can's on fire...

[SteeleDragon78]

My can's on fire...

they make creams for that now...

[Kit-Ginevra]

This seems suitable for both of you's

[ladyjaneinmd]

I had cute firemen come up to my apartment once. I was making cinnamon buns, and took them out of the oven, then turned it off. A few minutes later, the smoke alarm starts going off. That happens a lot anyway, so I fanned it off. Then they *both* went off, even the one in the bedroom, and I started to worry. I got my phone and ran downstairs to the laundry room, in case we had another firebug in the building (The whole complex had been having fires, due to an arsonist), but nothing. I called 911 on my way up the stairs, and the nice lady told me to get out of the house and she'd send the firemen. Well, I wasn't going without my cat, so I got her travel box and went looking for her. On the way, I noticed that, instead of turning the oven OFF, I'd turned it to BROIL. O.M.G. So this time I turned it off, and started opening windows and turning on fans, all while this poor lady is trying to get me out of the house. I told her THERE IS NO FIRE, but she wouldn't listen. By then the sirens were outside, and in they came. Oh my, they were cute. I apologized up and down and offered them some cinnamon rolls, but they weren't interested. At least they were nice about it. The apartment complex office was also nice about it. Whew.

[WishfulSpirit]

Colorado Children's Hospital burn ward puts out a firefighter calendar every year, the proceeds go to help the hospital. Maybe look into that?

[Lovecats]

We used to tease my mil that the only reason she would push her Life Alert button was because of the cute firemen who showed up.

[Food Lady]

Unrelated, but I've been considering Life Alert for a long time because I live alone.

[Mental_Mouse]

Unrelated, but I've been considering Life Alert for a long time because I live alone.

If you're in the target population, it's certainly worthwhile -- basically, if you've reached the age (or have an illness or disability) where an accident or fall can leave you unable to reach the phone, or where a sudden "attack" (heart, stroke, back trouble, epilepsy) is something that can happen any time.

[dalesys]

Unrelated, but I've been considering Life Alert for a long time because I live alone.

My sister found our almost 91 year old father on the floor (he couldn't get up) in his apartment a month ago when she went to pick him up for our mother's almost 91 year old sister's funeral. He apparently did a slow faint and folded to the floor as there were no impact bruises or injuries (low level muscle damage from lying there several hours).

He's cranky enough that we haven't forced him to wear a dad tag. I just did a search and found this list of "2018 best Medical Alert Systems".

[Food Lady]

dalesys, wow, I'm sorry! I'm glad he's basically OK!

If you're in the target population, it's certainly worthwhile -- basically, if you've reached the age (or have an illness or disability) where an accident or fall can leave you unable to reach the phone, or where a sudden "attack" (heart, stroke, back trouble, epilepsy) is something that can happen any time.

I'm not sure I'm in the category (maybe) but accidents in the home are pretty common. You just never know. I remember I electrocuted myself once and I'm grateful I was conscious and able to call 911.

[Blue Ginger]

My Gran had a life button thingy from when she was 77 until she moved into the nursing home at 90. It was a literal life saver a few times. Heart attacks are not fun for anyone involved.

In the beginning, she would 'check in' with them once a week, but the last 5 years it was each day. The checking in was simply pressing the button to test that it was still working and that she was ok.

For us, it was just peace of mind. She lived nearly 3 hours away from her kids and most of the grandkids. The rest of the grandkids lived 1 hour the opposite direction. She still had lots of friends in her little country town, but most were getting pretty old too. Most of them, she only saw on the weekend for church and ladies lunches afterwards.

A good way to get him to agree to having and using one is to phrase it as helping him keep his independence. That is why Gran loved it. Without the life button, she would have needed to be in a nursing home at least 10 years earlier when she had the hip replacement.