If an ambulance pulls up to a neighbor's house, how nosy are you?

[battlemaiden]

Do you go outside and watch?

 

Do you stand in your house and discreetly watch through a window?

 

Do you not look, but fight the curiosity?

 

Do you ignore the whole event?

 

I might mention that this just happened and I have never met this neighbor. I have had this happen to a neighbor I knew well once and I ran right over to see if I could help. But in this case it was pure curiosity.

 

Fess up ya'll! What would you do?

 

Jo

[Kelli in TN]

Yes! I watch. And if anyone else is out there watching we meet in the middle and discuss the implications.

 

Once I did not watch. The time that two ambulances and no less than 8 police cars went flying into the subdivision behind us I did not step outside. In fact I deadbolted the doors and hid in the middle of the house.

 

An hour later they left and there was nothing on the news that night. Weird, huh?

[Whisperlily]

This just happened to me. We moved into this house in December, and I'd met the neighbor twice. I probably would have discreetly watched through the window, if I hadn't been leaving my house at the time. I knew he was an older gentleman living alone, so I stopped by later that afternoon with our telephone number in case he ever needed anything.

 

They were very appreciative, it happened that his wife was coming home from a nursing home that day... not sure what the ambulance AND fire truck were doing there...

 

And, since I'd given him my phone number, he called me this past Saturday to let us know his wife had passed away (less than a week after she'd returned home.) I stopped by the next night with a card, and found out that he has no family living near, and we talked for a long time. He has a lot of friends, but I think it was really appreciated that we took the time to make sure he was doing alright. I have a feeling that we'll have a somewhat regular dinner guest at our house. :)

[Old Dominion Heather]

As long as there are no police... dude, I'm there! I'd be outside watching, asking the crew what was going on! The kids would be out looking at the ambulance... But this is colored by the fact that we know everone on the street.

 

If we had just moved, I might just watch from the window. But all formal education would be over until the ambulance was gone.

[Elisabeth in IL]

In this cold midwest weather I'd

Do you stand in your house and discreetly watch through a window?

 

In the summer, especially if we were already outside, I'd

Do you go outside and watch?

 

.

[Serendipity]

We're a close-knit neighborhood. I would head over ASAP, and have.

 

:)

[Rebel]

If I didn't know them, I would still watch from the yard. Where I live now, I would be running over immediately.

[Jennifer in MI]

I watch and ask any remaining members of the family if there is anything I can do.

 

I had to call an ambulance for my ds once (he was having a seizure). I was SOOOOO grateful for the neighbors who came out and asked if they could help. They watched my other kids while I drove about 5 minutes behind the ambulance (I'll never forget the sight of my 6 yo being carried out by the paramedic, still seizing, and my having to let him go withoug me:().

 

One other time a neighbor had called the ambulance and I went over and told the daughter to come get me if she ever needed anything. She has come over numerous times. (Her mom has a medical issue where she needs an ambulance about once/month.) They were so grateful to have the help!

[Tammyla]

My answer depends on the weather. LoL...Any temp below the teens and I'm not stepping out the door unless I'm called to assist. Otherwise, I'd go over for most of my neighbors to help with the kids or dogs.

 

In past neighborhoods I'd watch from the window. :rolleyes:

[Peek a Boo]

totally different answer here--

 

I have instructed my kids that if there are emergency vehicles on the scene, they need to stay clear and let the guys do their job and let whoever needs the help receive it in peace.

 

If it was a neighbor that I know or just one vehicle, I might venture over and see if I can help or if they [the neighbor] need anyone called. But then I'd get out of the way and watch from the house. It's stressful enough to deal w/ a situation w/o having the added stress of an audience :-) As my kids get older they will receive more instruction about offering help and ways to help w/o being too nosy :)

 

If I wanted to know anymore details I'd bring it up later or leave the door open for them to discuss it.

 

edited to add ..... But *I* don't mind an audience, lol. It doesn't bother me to have nosy people around. i kinda encourage nosiness, hee hee..... But i know not everyone is like that.

[Daisy]

I'm not sure what this has to do with nosey. We know and are at least acquantances with all our neighbors. I'd be over there in a second to find out what was up, if I could help out, watch the kids, etc.

[Mrs. Readsalot]

my husband always has. He maintain the 911 system for our city and we can find out more fron the radio. His radio is always on so we hear every call. I have gotten good at tuning them out unless it was a neighbor.

[Ottakee]

Well, first hint of sirens and we can turn on our police/fire scanner and know where they are going, what they are going for, who it is for (age/gender no name), etc.

 

My FIL is the retired constable and fire chief in our township and dh was a medical first responder and firefighter for 10+ years here. We generally know what is going on.

 

Heck, when we had to call 9-1-1 for our then 2 week old daughter who stopped breathing my mom and my in laws both heard it on the scanner and were on their way over before we could even think about calling them.

 

That dd is now 11 had ended up she likely had a seizure and refluxed which caused her to stop breathing for a few seconds.

[Michelle T]

I would most likely go over to see if help was needed with their kids, pets, or whatever. Neighbors I don't know, I'm not sure. If I thought they had kids or might need some sort of household help, I might offer assistance. Otherwise, I'd probably watch from inside.

 

This is just for ambulance/medical situations. If it was just police cars pulling up, I would definitely stay inside.

Michelle T

[gardenschooler]

Definitely watch and try to find out what's going on.

[Jann in TX]

An ambulance pulled up in front of our neighbor's house. They had moved in a week or so before and we had only exchanged 'waves'. I knew they had 2 small children--and the wife's car was gone. Sure enough one of the babies had taken a tumble off of the bed and stopped breathing. They life-flighted her to the hospital...

 

I was standing outside my house talking with some other neighbors when I saw the dad at the doorway--he was crying so hard! I left the neighbors and went into his house--and gently asked if I could babysit his 5yo son...the dad was allowed to go with the baby but could not take the son. I gave the dad my phone number--they had NO friends or family in the area.

 

Luckily the baby recovered and we became friends with our neighbors.

[Jennifer in MI]

An ambulance pulled up in front of our neighbor's house. They had moved in a week or so before and we had only exchanged 'waves'. I knew they had 2 small children--and the wife's car was gone. Sure enough one of the babies had taken a tumble off of the bed and stopped breathing. They life-flighted her to the hospital...

 

I was standing outside my house talking with some other neighbors when I saw the dad at the doorway--he was crying so hard! I left the neighbors and went into his house--and gently asked if I could babysit his 5yo son...the dad was allowed to go with the baby but could not take the son. I gave the dad my phone number--they had NO friends or family in the area.

 

Luckily the baby recovered and we became friends with our neighbors.

 

Oh- this brought tears to my eyes. It's so much like my story (in a previous post in this thread). I had to watch as the ambulance pulled away with my 6 yo who wasn't breathing at the time. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Thank you for asking if you could help!!!

[Tammy]

I know everyone's name...their childrens' names....and even their pets' names, LOL!

 

I would definitely be the first one out there....

 

Tammy

[Guest Lorna]

We used to live next door to a nursing home. This was a very regular occurrence. We got used to it, but it could make you feel very sad.

On the other hand, when dd lost her breath falling down the stairs I was very glad of our other neighbour coming out straight away to see if she could help when she saw the paramedic. She is a doctor but it was more in a supportive capacity I was grateful for. I know she was there for us and concerned.

[Mom2legomaniacs]

Right now, I am close to a lot of my neighbors. They are elderly and widowed (many of them anyway). I would go and find out what is going on since we are close. I would want to make sure their animals are taken care of and their kin notified if needed.

 

If I didn't know them at all, I would watch to see what was going on and if so to help if needed.

[OnTheBrink]

There are only 5 houses on my street, and we're the only home with a child, so if I saw an ambulance, I'd most likely stay inside and let the paramedics do their job. Although, my next door neighbor lives alone, I would go over and see if I could help, and there is an older man across the street who has his teen/young adult grandson living with him. I'd check on them, too.

[*anj*]

We don't know very many of our neighbors, but the ones next door to us are dear friends. They are an elderly couple, and they both have health issues, so yes, I'd go over there if I saw an ambulance. In fact, a couple of months ago we were leaving the house, and we saw an ambulance pull up. I went right over while the paramedics were there and spoke with our neighbor's granddaughter, who happened to be there visiting.

 

There's a woman across the street whose dh travels a lot for work and she's got a toddler, so if I saw something I'd go check on her too.

 

But yeah, we would go take a look.

[Luanne]

But I did go outside and watch when a firetruck pulled up and was even blocking my driveway. I live in a trailer park though and saw smoke coming from the other side of my neighbor's trailer. I just wanted to make sure we were safe (as well as a lot curious as to what was going on).

[Melissa in FL]

I would have to go right over and find out all I could. I know all the rest of the neighborhood would show up in front of my house later to find out what was going on. I think I've become the neighborhood watch all by myself! They all know that I will stop and question anyone that I see in the neighborhood.

 

Which is good, yesterday I helped a young boy (about 11-12) who had followed his friends into the neighborhood, and gotten seperated from them. He had no idea how to get home. He didn't even know his phone number. I helped him by letting him know where the Public school is and then he could tell me where his home was. It was getting dark and you could just tell this boy was nervous that he had NO idea where he was. If I hadn't walked up to him and asked what he was doing, I fear what might have happened to him.

 

My neighbors love the fact that they know I'm watching during the days and I keep them informed of what's going on in the neighborhood. If I saw an ambulance and knew what was going on, I would then let the other neighbors know what was needed by that family. I don't know that many people in the neighborhood (haven't lived here that long), but we are slowly getting close to a lot of people.

 

Melissa

[nancypants]

Go outside and ask bystanders if everything is okay or if they know what happened, if I know the person. If I don't know the person, I stay inside but I might look out the window to see if the fire dept. were on it's way or something. Houses are so close together here that if there is a fire in the neighborhood you need to know ASAP because it takes all of about 2 minutes (maybe less) for it to spread to the next house over. (Three houses directly across the street from us burnt to the ground a few weeks before we moved in here so everyone on the street is always a bit on edge when they hear sirens.)

 

My Mom is a total ambulance chaser! She's gotten better over the years but she told me she got it from her Dad. He would go so far as to pile the kids in the car to drive a couple blocks away if something big were happening. :eek:

[Closeacademy]

Since most of my neighbors are elderly and we had one (just passed away) to whose house they pulled up about every 10 days. It went from going outside to see if there was anything I could do to just worrying about them.

 

We've spent a lot of time watching out for our neighbors and have almost called the ambulance several times. We've lost 6 since we moved into our house in '99.

[Kris]

I am blissfully ignorant of my neighbors' comings and goings, being "down in the holler" and able to see nothing but trees. So it is a constant mystery to me how they all think they know what *I'm* doing -- and feel free to discuss it with one and all. Well, except with me, of course. They never ask me. Would probably take all the fun out of it, eh?

 

But if we were still city folks, I'd be over there in a heartbeat, if it was someone I knew. Otherwise, I'd probably peek out the windows -- conspicuously.

[Diana in OR]

I've been on the other side of this. My dh was taken by ambulance (we found out later he had severe food poisining). It was around 11p.m. and my dc had already gone to bed. My next door neighbor came over to see what they could do. At the time, my boys were 10 and 13--old enough to stay home alone, but not at night. We worked it out so that the boys could call the neighbor if they needed anything, so we wouldn't have to drag them to the e.r. in the middle of the night.

I can tell you that night, I was thankful for nosy neighbors!!:)

[Tutor]

I can only see one neighbor here, and I don't know them well yet, but I know they have a son nearby, and I would probably ask if anyone has contacted him or if I could call someone. If my help wasn't required, I would go back in my house, but I'd probably peek through the windows periodically. :o

 

We lived on a main road in our old neighborhood, and there was a car accident right in front of our house. It was just people passing by, so they were strangers, and the accident wasn't bad, but I went out to see how everyone was. There was already a police officer there who had been coming up the road anyway. It turned out that one of the women involved in the accident was deaf, and I knew enough sign language to be able to get contact info for a relative and help the police question her about the accident. Other neighbors helped direct traffic, cleaned glass off of the road, lent phones, and pushed the damaged vehicles into their own driveways to clear the road for the rush hour traffic.

 

I don't think it's helpful to hang around and chit chat in those situations (although it's really tempting :)), but you never know when you can truly be of help unless you ask.

[G5052]

We've had our own "situations" where I actually called neighbors to help!

 

Sometimes people in that situation need emergency childcare, or if the person is upstairs and immobile, frankly the emergency people may need help moving furniture and negotiating the turns downstairs. Sometimes ambulances won't take anyone but the hurt/sick person, so they may need a ride to the hospital if they're too shaken to drive themselves.

 

So, yes, if it was someone I knew and I felt that I might be needed, I would go. If they didn't need me though, I'd go home immediately.

[brehon]

As a paramedic, I have had situations where neighbors came over to a patient's house while we were still attending the patient. I generally don't mind if neighbors come over as long as they stay out of the way, especially when I or my partner is treating a critical patient. Usually, like many of the posters in this thread, people want to help in some way. Over the 10 or so years I've been in this job I've had one or two instances of neighbors coming over and interfering with patient care. On one occasion, my partner had to have the local PD come to the scene because a person was preventing us from treating the patient (who had called us and wanted us to take him to the hospital).

 

As to what I would do if an ambulance pulled up to my [hypothetical] neighbor's house, well, to be honest, I'd probably hide in one of the kid's bedrooms. :rolleyes: When I'm off duty, I prefer to be off duty. This situation is not likely to happen as I live on about 12 acres and can't even see my neighbors' houses.

 

As to why a fire truck also showed up at the scene, many FD's also respond to medical calls. In fact, for most fire departments, the bulk of their call volume is medical calls, not fire calls. At least this is true in the Central Texas area.

[Ferdie]

This happened a couple of years ago when we were living in CA. I was so worried I ran right over and waited for my dear neighbor's nephew to come outside and tell me what was happening.

 

My poor neighbor was in her late 80's and living alone. Apparently she fell and couldn't get back up. Her nephew found her several days later when he went to pick her up to go to church. She died a few days later in the hospital.

 

I still feel so sad when I think of her laying on the floor for several days. How dreadful. I learned my lesson the hard way. If I every live near a single elderly neighbor I hope I can work out some kind of code system, (phone call, curtains open in morning and close at night) so we can make sure they are OK.

 

So sad.

[battlemaiden]

And I especially loved having the paramedic's perspective...thanks!

 

FWIW- the neighbor I was referring to is young, his kids are in school, and he owns two of the scarriest pit bulls I've ever seen- they can be hungry for a few hours until his wife gets back :o. He also seemed to have his mom, or some other relative arrive.

 

All those factors play a part in what any of us would do, I'm sure.

 

Thanks for all the responses.

 

Jo

[Remudamom]

Well, we don't really have neighbors, but if it was the neighbors we used to have I'd be pretty mad if they didn't call me right after an ambulance so I could go over and get children to keep.

[Tammyla]

totally different answer here--

 

I have instructed my kids that if there are emergency vehicles on the scene, they need to stay clear and let the guys do their job and let whoever needs the help receive it in peace.

 

If it was a neighbor that I know or just one vehicle, I might venture over and see if I can help or if they [the neighbor] need anyone called. But then I'd get out of the way and watch from the house. It's stressful enough to deal w/ a situation w/o having the added stress of an audience :-) As my kids get older they will receive more instruction about offering help and ways to help w/o being too nosy :)

 

If I wanted to know anymore details I'd bring it up later or leave the door open for them to discuss it.

 

edited to add ..... But *I* don't mind an audience, lol. It doesn't bother me to have nosy people around. i kinda encourage nosiness, hee hee..... But i know not everyone is like that.

 

 

Oh, I totally agree. I would never get in the way, and I teach my kids this. My neighbors and I have a standing agreement. My post was unclear, yet again.:eek:

[brehon]

With scary pit bulls at a house, I usually don't wanna get out of my nice, safe ambulance with its closed doors. I've actually not gone into houses until somebody [read: not me or my partner; we're kinda cowards that way] secured the pets.

[momo4]

This happened to us recently on the weekend and my husband called me in, because he thought it was rude to watch. I thought the kids would enjoy seeing the ambulance and fire engine.

 

We were 4 houses away though. Forgot to mention that.

[Holly IN]

Do you go outside and watch? Jo

 

I would go out and try to comfort my neighbors. (I know them all which is 5 families). I would be very concerned. They did the same for my father who was at my house. I had to call the ambulance. I was glad for their comfort. The cops..I knew some of them as I grew up with them. I rather my neighbors come over and see what needs to be done or help out in every way possible.

 

Holly

[Jeanne in MN]

whether I knew them or not. But we live in a small town and I have a rough idea of who lives in our neighborhood.) if I wasn't needed, I would get the heck out of their way, go back in my house and give them privacy.

 

I can't fathom standing out in the street gabbing with people about what could be happening, being so forward as to ask EMT's what's going on when it's none of my business or taking the kids out to see fire trucks and ambulances. These situations aren't spectator sports, they involve someone's dignity, respect and privacy. I wouldn't want people gawking at a serious situation going on with myself or family member like we were some kind of side show.

[HSMom2One]

twice now I've had to call an ambulance for a loved one, and I've had neighbors standing by watching. One particular neighbor came to the door and offered to help. When I've been in these situations it has made me feel cared for. People are concerned more than just being nosey. My mil died at our house hears ago, and the neighbors gave us a great deal of encouragement and support at a critical time.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[Kate in Arabia]

 

As to why a fire truck also showed up at the scene, many FD's also respond to medical calls. In fact, for most fire departments, the bulk of their call volume is medical calls, not fire calls. At least this is true in the Central Texas area.

When my mom had to have an ambulance called (severe allergic reaction to something she ate -- she couldn't breathe) a fire truck also came. She was told later that, at least in that city, fire trucks always came along -- I guess you never know what the situation inside really is, the ambulance crew might need assistance getting to the patient, like through a bolted door or what have you. I don't know what kind of equipment ambulances generally have in them to deal with these kind of "side issues", or whether the personnel are trained to handle it.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Do you go outside and watch?

 

Do you stand in your house and discreetly watch through a window?

 

We used to watch, or go outside and offer to help, even, until the day that we saw an ambulance and police cars attempting to blockade a limping, running young man who was shooting at the rescue workers. On the news we heard that there had been some sort of shoot out a few blocks away and one of the parties involved was hurt and attempting to make a run for it. :eek: Our neighborhood has always been poor, but just in the past two years has the crime followed the poverty. So now I tell the kids to mind their own business, and we generally hide in the middle of the house, although the kids think that they are sent there to do a distracting project like make a card for whichever neighbor was visited by the ambulance. Also, we just bought land for our dream home far, far away, and will be switching our residence-as-activism to living on a small piece of acreage and gardening, maybe eventually CSAing.

[Kay in Cal]

Any ambulances that pull up around here are at my house... (well, at least 4-5 times in the past few years).

 

I'd go watch. Doesn't bother me when neighbors come out to see what's going on, especially if they offer to help. If I'm in a panic and rude as I climb into the back of the ambulance, oh well... but personally I feel better knowing that my neighbors actually are interested enough to walk outside.

 

However, I do have to say that our calls don't involve drugs, alcohol, domestic violence or other issues that can bring up strong feelings of shame. I'd stay out of those situations if I knew about them, otherwise I'd be right over there to see if they needed any help.

 

I've actually had to ask my next-door neighbors (nice folks, but certainly not on the level of close friends) to watch my sleeping kids in the middle of the night as I went with dh to the ER--when life is on the line, you need all the help you can get!