How to summon help?

[Glenn]

Do you have a signal system to summon help if you are in your shop and an emergency arises? How do you call the wife, neighbor, or others if things go REALLY bad?

[gerald]

You know, I've never thought about a separate system. I usually have a cell phone at the barn/shop but, as Glenn says, what if things go REALLY bad and can't get the cell to work, etc.

Air horn maybe? If so, where's the best place to hang it? I live pretty far out in the country (don't get Monday Night Football until Thursday night), so if the wife's not here, who would hear an air horn?

Be interesting to read what solutions others come up with.

[ThomasPowers]

Bell, just like on my great grandfather's farm. (Cept for mine is made from a O2 welding tank...)

[Finnr]

I live and work alone in a rural area. I have the cell with me at all times and also have a "Life line" necklace to call help if needed. ( Mom insisted) . I just have to be able to hit the button on the necklace.
Finnr /Art

[Ted T]

Glenn,
I think you have brought up a subject that deserves some contemplation and input. I would sure like to hear some good Ideas about ways to get help when you need it.

I know that safety should come first, but I am talking about after the fact when equipment failure, common senses and safety practices have not been used or have failed!

During the last part of July and the whole month of August I worked on the inside of a building that was fabricated out of steel on two sides and the roof. I was enclosing the ends and building storage wracks for steel and wood.
It was just like working inside of a large tin can that was sitting in the sun. At times the tempters would reach 110 to 116 degrees inside. The higher up I worked nearer the roof area the hotter it got.

Then about three weeks ago while working inside of the tin can, I remember that I felt like I was dying and had to get to the house. The next thing that I could remember was how bad my neck, head and back hurt. I found my self laying out on my back on the rear side walk with my head on the step. I tried to get up but I could not. After some time (minutes) I was able to reach over and pound on the foot of screen door. And shortly after that I was able to get up and go inside my home.

My wife helped my lay down on the bed. I told her I must have passed out because it must be close to lunch time. I told her that I had just looked at my watch and it was 11:30 am.

She said no, that it was 3:30 P.M.! I had lost about 4 hours during the time that I was out in shop or laying on the sidewalk in the heat. I had not drank any water during that time.

I had a heat stroke.

Although I carry a cell phone and have a speaker system inside of one of my shops that is connected to the house, I could not have used either one. The next day when my wife came out to the shop with me, we found what I had been working on. I do not remember building the panel, but it fit perfectly. It just may be that I do better work when I am goofier than normal.

But I realize not all injuries or emergencies are like the one I described. I feel a person should set up more than one way to get help while in the work area.

Another example: An older fellow had been laying 4’ x 8’ ply wood panels on their sides up against the wall. Somehow he got stuck between the wall and the wood stack. That is where they found him, but two late.
I am looking forward to hear some suggestions.

Be safe!
Old Rusty Ted

[irnsrgn]

I used to work out of the shop a lot and on and in some scary places all by myself, before I got a cell phone I had a mobile phone in my service truck it was customary for me to call my first wife every hour on the hour, if I forgot she would call me just to make sure I was alright and I always told her where I was going and what I was going to be working on either before I left or when I got to the jobsite.
Now when I work its usually in the basement wood shop and I usually come up every hour to take therapy. I can always bang on the furnace ductwork or the floor joists if anything goes wrong.
When I am traveling by myself as I was most of yesterday, Cookie calls me usually every hour to check on me.

[JWBIRONWORKS]

The vast majority of the time I work in the shop by myself. I did run a phone line to the shop last year and have a portable handset I can lay on the bench or somewhere out of the way. We don't get a cell phone signal out here and I don't have one anyway.
Like Thomas I also have a bell mounted on a post outside the shop. Mostly I use it to call the dog.
My wife and the Devil Child have grown accustomed to my "racket" so I would have to bang for a long time to get their attention. Be better off catching their attention waving a $100 bill in the air. Even out of line of sight I'm sure they'd sense it and come a runnin
Seriously though I have a phone and a dinner bell which is alot more than I have had most of my working life so I feel fairly secure. The most dangerous part about it is that I am working with ME .

John

[fat pete]

I live in the woods too. I was cutting a tree back in June and the bugger jumped the stump and knocked me right down and pinned me under the tree. I aint a weekend warrior I have cut way many trees. This one had this healthy old buck stuck and in big pain. My wife was on the mower couldnt hear me yellin. Till she glanced over and saw me.
I am all hooked up now, forge (propane) anvil the whole shooting match and I could get hurt I must think about this cause I am alone all day.
I use safety glasses and the right clothes and have plenty of ventalation but I never thought of what never happens.

THX for the heads up.

Fat Pete

[Marc]

I think probably the most useful emergency device is my cordless phone. Cell phone reception is spotty at my house. Sometimes I remember to hook it on my belt, but usually it sits in its cradle in the shop.

The father of my best friend from my school days died when working on a window in his basement. He fell through it, cutting an artery. Cordless phones weren't available back then to the working class, much less cell phones. He bled to death with his hand on the upstairs phone. Ironically, he was a retired firefighter who spent his career saving lives.

Ever since then, I have tried to make sure I had a phone with or near me when in the shop or doing work around the house. It's real cheap insurance.

--Marc

[IronPuppet]

My wife is a paraplegic and so is inside the house most of the time. I want to be outside doing things around the yard. We had a wireless intercom that plugs in for a while, but it proved awkward due to the fact that the radios were stationary.

Now we have Cobra personal radios. They are great! Small and portable. Go anywhere we happen to be and we can carry on a conversation. Much cheaper and convenient than a cellphone. Only drawback is the range, but I can go 1/3 mile away and we can still yak. Perfect for around the property and no cellphone bills.

I clip it to the collar of my shirt and she is always right there.

Christopher