What is the Importance of Personal Security and Safety Precautions?

There are certain rules about safety that must be followed in any workplace. In fact, companies and institutions organize trainings and exercises for their employees on these issues. But most people do not think that such rules should be applied at home and do not pay attention to safety and security rules except legal obligations.

Since I have to deal with safety and security issues constantly in the Armed Forces, where I have served for years, I pay great attention to the rules regarding these issues. For example, one of the things I did when I became the apartment manager years ago was to replace the doorbell with a system (which is now used in almost every apartment building) so that the owners can see and talk to the person who rings the bell. I also checked the firefighting equipment and completed the missing materials.

I also pay attention to safety and security issues in my own apartment. I always lock the door, not only when I leave the house, but also when I am at home. I also install the door safety catch. Smoke alarm, carbon dioxide alarm, natural gas pipes, chimney etc. I check things almost every day. I always lock the terrace door and check it every day in case the kids left it open. I even check whether the railings of the balcony and terrace are intact. So I probably pay more attention to both safety and security issues than most people.

At times, I felt that I was exaggerating and obsessing over this subject. But an event I experienced showed me how important the issue of safety and security is and that no measures to be taken are exaggerated.

One day I left the house to meet a friend. I went down with the elevator. I took out a cigarette as I opened the apartment door and lit it as soon as I walked out the door. I just took a breath when I said, “My rose! Pat…” I heard two voices, one after the other.

We had recently planted grass in the garden of the apartment. My downstairs neighbor, 60-65 years old Bey, also planted a lot of roses in the garden because he was very interested in gardening. I thought that my downstairs neighbor was again interested in the flowers and threw the shovel outside of the garden when he was finished, as I likened this sound to the double sound of the iron part and then the wooden handle hitting the ground when you throw a shovel a little far from your hand.

But as I took a step and descended the stairs, I saw my downstairs neighbor lying motionless on the grass on the right. However, nothing bad came to my mind. I thought he was tired of working and laying on the grass since the weather was nice.

My next-door neighbor is a restless guy who is always busy with something like hyperactive kids. He doesn't do sports, but he is a very strong and vigorous man compared to his peers, as he is constantly walking around and interested in something during the day. He always bragged that "I don't know what tiredness is..." so when I saw him lying on the floor tiredly, I called out to hang out.

“Hello ... Mr. You must be very tired. I see you are lying dead.”

Indeed, he was lying on the ground, motionless and almost as if he were dead. While I was waiting for him to jump up and come over to show me that he wasn't tired, he started to fidget and muttered something to himself.

When I saw this, I realized that something was wrong and I went to him.

“Wow! What are you doing… Sir?” I said.

But he lay on the ground, not moving, staring at me with pain and worry. I didn't take it badly, though, and I thought he lay on the floor because he was too tired or dizzy.

But he muttered; “I fell…” he replied.

I still thought it was nothing serious. Because I thought he was dizzy while working and fell to the ground.

Therefore; 'How did you fall? Are you dizzy?” I asked.

Pointing to the apartment with those eyes; “I fell off the balcony…” he replied.

I immediately took action on it. Because the man lived on the fourth floor and he had fallen from his own balcony, his condition must have been quite serious. Moreover, this man had surgery on his back about a month ago.

I immediately bent down and looked at his pulse. It was a little high. I took off the small backpack that contained only a sweater on my shoulder, folded it up, and carefully gripped his neck with my hand, placing the bag under his head. Then I asked some questions to check if he was conscious. He was conscious, and I think he was starting to get over the initial shock. As a matter of fact, he gradually began to tell me what had happened.

Since his wife was sick, he decided to help her by cleaning the windows of the house. When he wiped all the windows and came to the balcony, he could not reach a window and tried to climb on the balcony iron and wipe the glass, but his foot slipped and fell down. He tried to hold on to the balcony of a lower floor as he fell, but his hand slipped as he fell quickly.

I was very worried as I knew the man had surgery. I was thinking, probably, that the surgery site had been damaged and that the man might be crippled. Find out if he's paralyzed since he's had surgery on his vertebrae. I told him to move his fingers and feet (not his legs) to play, he did. I was relieved when I realized it wasn't a stroke.

But when the man pointed to his rib and said that it hurt a lot, I thought that his rib was broken and probably stuck in an internal organ. I thought at best she was having internal bleeding. Because the man's face had turned a color between black and yellow.

After taking the first precautions about the man and understanding his general condition, I took out the phone to call an ambulance. But I couldn't think of the number 112. At that time, I asked a passer-by who saw us and approached the garden wall, that I wanted to call an ambulance and what the number was. But the man was in a much more panicked state than I was.

"I do not know." she said and started running towards the nearby grocery store. The grocer who saw him came out and ran towards us to understand what had happened. I shouted at the grocery store that I was going to call an ambulance, that I couldn't think of what number to call. The grocer paused for a moment, scratching his head as if thinking. But he couldn't answer and said, "I can't remember." said.

Then he suddenly turned around and ran towards his shop. He walked in and a few seconds later came out the door shouting at me: “112, number 112.”

I immediately called 112. I told the person on the phone about the patient's condition and gave the address. I asked what I should do before they came. The paramedic on the phone told me not to move the patient. In any case, I had not moved the man from his place and I had not brought anyone close to the man, including his own daughter.

Meanwhile, a middle-aged man from the neighborhood came to us confidently. He approached the man lying on the ground. When he saw that I did not let anyone near him and that I was waiting for him like a police officer, he looked at me and said, "Let me see the patient."

I held out my hand and stopped the man.

"Are you a doctor?" I asked.

Man; "No. I am not. But I took a first aid course.” he replied.

I was not convinced by the man's demeanor, so I asked: “The patient is conscious. No open wounds. No bleeding. Maybe internal bleeding. What would you suggest we do?"

After the man listened to me carefully, he said confidently; “We have to get our feet up. For blood flow.” he replied.

So I told the man not to approach the patient. Because I also had a first aid course and training several times, especially for the intervention against gun injuries. In these trainings, I remembered that they said that when someone with internal bleeding lifts their feet, the bleeding will increase and the risk of death of the patient will increase because most of the blood will come into the body.

Meanwhile, everyone who saw us gathered around the patient and began to ask something. When I saw that the patient was overwhelmed, I warned people and took them out of the garden. A little while later, the ambulance came. They put the patient on the stretcher by wearing a neck brace and took him away.

While I was waiting for the bad news to come, I sighed with relief when I learned that the man was nothing serious and only injured one of his ribs.

This incident taught me a great lesson. In other words, it can be said that I am a more piquant person.

For example, when I have to look down from the balcony, I definitely make sure that the center of gravity of my body is inside. For whatever reason, I never go out from the balcony or the window.

I do not allow women who come to clean to go inside the window to wipe the parts that are too far from the inside to reach.

I listen carefully to all kinds of sounds.

When I leave the house, instead of looking ahead and walking, I check by looking around.

Oh, and also the police, gendarmerie, ambulance etc. I saved all the numbers on my phone.

Now I know that my home carries risks in terms of safety as well as security and that I should not do anything without taking some basic precautions.

I suggest you be more careful as well.