Don’t Hit Panic Button Keeping Your Cool During Emergencies Goes A Long Way Toward Ensuring Safety

To watch those droll, cucumber-cool doctors and emergency-medical service crews on TV shows such as “ER” and “Rescue 911,” you’d think handling emergencies is just another day at the beach.

But what if a life-and-death drama happened to you? Would you know what to do? Here are five hair-raising scenarios and how to pull through them.

1. You’re driving alone in a desolate area at night and your car breaks down. According to Louis R. Mizell Jr., a personal-security expert in the Washington, D.C., area, more than 2,000 serious highway crimes this year will involve a car that has broken down or run out of gas.

Pull your disabled car into a well-lighted area if you can, turn on the emergency flashers and tie a white cloth to your door handle, trunk or antenna.

If you have flares, light them 200 feet in front of and behind your car to alert passing motorists. Then sit in the car with the windows rolled up and the doors locked.

Be cautious about offers of assistance from anyone. Rather than accept a ride, ask the person to call the police for you. And always insist that officers show their credentials through the closed window. Many criminals masquerade as officers.

2. You’re at home when an intruder breaks in. About 15 percent of the estimated 3.2 million break-ins that will occur this year will take place when at least one person is at home, according to Mizell.

If you suspect that an intruder is in your home, don’t confront him. Run to a neighbor’s house and call 911 from there.

If you can’t exit without the chance of a confrontation - you’re upstairs and hear someone downstairs, for instance - lock yourself and your children inside a room with a telephone, barricade the door with a dresser or heavy chair and call 911.

3. You’re in an elevator that gets stuck and no one responds to the alarm. First try the two-way communication system. If no one answers, push the “door open” button. The elevator may have stopped at a floor but the doors may simply have failed to open.

If they open, it’s safe to exit only if the elevator floor is level with the hall floor. If the doors are closed or partially closed, don’t try to open or squeeze through them. And don’t lean on them. Most elevator accidents involve malfunctioning doors.

Instead, sit on the floor away from the doors and wait for help. Standing is dangerous: Although elevators are designed to start and stop slowly, they can ascend or descend suddenly and rapidly. And never attempt to exit through the elevator’s roof - it’s the last place you want to be.

4. You’re in a crowded public place and discover your child is missing. The most common mistake parents make when their child is missing in a public place is to “waste precious time” looking for the child themselves instead of enlisting help, says Ben Ermini, director of case management at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Parents should immediately go to a checkout counter, security office or lost and found - whichever is closest - to report that their child is lost.

Most public places, Ermini says, have standard procedures for dealing with missing children, such as turning on cameras to monitor parking lots and calling the police.

After contacting security personnel, return to the spot where you were last with your child in case he’s just wandered off and returns.

5. You awaken in the middle of the night to the smell of smoke. Immediately crawl out of bed and onto your hands and knees, says Julie Reynolds, manager of public affairs for the National Fire Protection Association. The air between 12 inches and 24 inches off the floor is safest and coolest.

If there are others at home, yell, “Fire! Get out!” Forget about gathering valuables. If you have small children, say their names aloud to your spouse, e.g., “I’ll get Christopher, you get Mark.” You don’t want any confusion about who’s getting whom.

Use an escape route that keeps you as far from smoke and flames as possible.

Before you open any closed door, feel it and the handle with the back of your hand (it’s more sensitive than your palm). If it’s hot, use another exit. If the door is cool, brace your shoulder against it and open it slightly to see if the route is safe.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: 911 do’s and don’ts Although dialing 911 has become synonymous with saving lives, it’s not a fail-safe system. Gary Allen, an emergency-services expert in Berkeley, Calif., with 20 years experience as a 911 dispatcher, offers the following advice to increase your chances of a quick response: Call 911 only in life-or-death emergencies. Inappropriate use of the system leads to inefficiency. When reporting a crime that has already occurred and in which no one was injured, phone the police department instead. Give the dispatcher a very brief overview of the situation and tell her what you need - police, medical services or firefighters. Answer the dispatcher’s questions calmly and specifically. This will help her in guiding you through any lifesaving procedures, such as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and in relaying necessary details to police. Don’t become impatient or cross if the dispatcher seems cool. She’s trained to remain calm so that she can better assist you. Teach your child how to use 911. Most 911 systems in the United States can verify immediately where the call is coming from, so that even a very young child can be effective. “Most kids know what to do, but don’t know when it is appropriate to call,” Allen says. Tell your child to call any time she feels unsafe - if Mommy or Daddy is hurt, for example, or if she feels she’s in danger. The dispatcher can assess whether it’s truly an emergency. - Michael J. Hofman

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Michel J. Hofman McCall’s magazine