Tip of the Day

There are twenty-seven in game tips that appear during loading screens. There are general operator tips as well as general emergency instructions. These are incomplete as any sort of actual emergency advice, but can aid real help to people in need in real life.

Use headphones or speakers!

Use headphones or speakers to improve your experience! Listening to voice-over dialogues and the background sounds helps you to resolve cases more efficiently.

How do you talk to a 911 operator?

• Try to remain calm.
• Describe the situation briefly (facts only!).
• Try to answer all the questions.
• Execute commands of 911 operator.
• Don’t argue with 911 operator.
• Don’t disconnect too early.

After the end of the conversation don’t use that phone to make another call. The operator might need to contact you again.

4W Rule

These are the common questions asked during an emergency call:

• Where are you?
• What happened?
• When did it happen? Is it still in progress?
• Who is involved in accident?

Possibly: Does somebody have any weapons?

Don’t call 911 unnecessarily!

Remember, 911 number is for emergencies only! When you call 911 to report irrelevant case, you block the line for the people in real danger. Don’t call 911 to get map directions for your trip, make a complaint about public service or check if your phone works properly! When you deliberately make an unnecessary 911 call, you might face serious legal consequences.

Don’t be afraid to call 911!

If you have any doubts if you should call 911, better do it! The operator will help you the best he can, and will decide if your case require an emergency response. In any other case the operator will provide you with necessary instructions or information.

First Aid: Heavy bleeding

1. Find something which can be used to dress the wound (e. g bandage, a clean cloth or piece of clothing).
2. Put pressure on the on the wound.
3. As soon as possible, call 911 or ask someone else to do it.
4. Keep pressure on the wound when waiting for emergency units to arrive.

First Aid: Fractures

Call 911 if:

• Injured person is not responding, breathing or cannot move.
• Fracture is open/compound and the bone pierced the skin.
• There is a suspicion of breaking a bone in the neck, spine or head.* Even the slow, careful movement causes unbearable pain.
• Injured person is bleeding heavily.
• Injured area (e.g. leg) looks significantly deformed.

In other cases, immobilise the injured bone by something stiff to prevent movement. Then visit a hospital on your own.

Signs of heart attack

1. Chest pain: The most common warning sign, but a person can experience a heart attack without chest pressure (especially women). Typically lasts more than a few minutes. The pain might go away and come back.
2. Pain or discomfort in areas of the upper body: One or both arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach.
3. Shortness of breath
4. Cold sweat
5. Nausea
6. Lightheadedness
7. Unusual fatigue

First Aid: Heart attack

1. Call 911 immediately.
2. Find the comfortable position for the person who experience the heart attack (e. g. sitting on the floor, leaning against a wall).
3. Wait for the medical emergency services.

How do you recognise a stroke?

If you suspect that there could be a stroke, use FAST method:

FACE: Can the person smile? (a part of face could drop during stroke)

ARMS: Can the person raise both arms? (one arm could could drift downward)

SPEECH: Can the person repeat a simple phrase? (understanding or producing speech could be interfered)

TIME: Call the 911 immediately, if you observe any of these signs.

Tornado survival

In a house with a basement:

• Head to the basement.
• Stay under a solid protection.
• Use head protection.
• Avoid windows.
• Do not stay under heavy objects (they may fall down and crush you).

Earthquake survival

• Drop to the ground.
• Find a solid hideout under a table.
• Just after the quake stops, carefully leave the building.
• Get away from walls and electric cables, as they may collapse.
• Stay on guard, as following quakes might occur.

First aid: Seizure (epilepsy)

1. Do not try to restrain seizures, nor to put anything in the mouth.
2. Clear the surroundings to protect the person from hitting something.
3. Use a blanket or clothing to protect the head.
4. Call 911 if:
   • The seizure last more than 5 minutes.
   • The person is not breathing after the seizure.
   • The person is heavily injured, because of the seizure.
   • It is the person’s first seizure.
5. After the end of seizures, make sure the person’s airway is open.

First Aid: Choking

1. Encourage the person to coughing.
2. Stand behind the person.
3. Wrap your arm around the waist of the choking person.
4. Give 5 back blows.
5. Grasp your fist with the other hand just above the navel of choking person.
6. Press hard into the stomach to do abdominal thrust.
7. Repeat quick, upward thrusts, up to 5 times.
8. Call 911.

First Aid: Fainting

If a person feels light-headed and looks pale, help them lay down. If possible elevate their feet and loosen clothing. Apply a cool cloth to his/her forehead. If the person vomits, roll them on their side to prevent choking. Call an ambulance if the person does not recover with 5 minutes.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)

1. Place a person on a back on a flat ground.
2. Put your hands on person’s breastbone, between the normal position of nipples.
3. Make your arms straight, do not bend your elbows.
4. Perform 30 strong compressions: press down about 2 inches in the fast rhythm (about 2 compressions per one second). Use your body weight
5. Make sure the airway is open and nothing blocks it.
6. Continue compressions until the help arrives (if you need to make a break, try to make it no longer than 10 seconds).

DRS ABCD Action plan

When you find an unconscious person:

• Check for DANGER: Make sure that area is safe for both you and unconscious person
• Check for a RESPONSE: Ask for a name, tap the shoulder. If no response:
• SEND for help: Call 911 or ask someone to do it.
• Open the AIRWAY: Use the head tilt and chin lift technique to open airway.
• Check for BREATHING: Look, listen and feel for normal breathing.
• Perform CPR: Continue CPR until the help arrives or the person recovers.
• Use DEFIBRILLATOR if available.

First aid: Poisoning or harmful substance

1. Try to get as much information as possible:

• What was the type of poison?
• When that happen?
• How much of the poison was taken?
• How much the person weighs?

2. Call 911 or Poison Control Center.

3. Don’t give anything to eat or drink to the poisoned person.

4. Don’t try to induce vomiting. However, if the person vomits, save some of a vomit in a clean container.

Car accident

1. Park your car off a road.

2. Turn on hazard lights.

3. Turn off the car engine.

4. Put warning triangle on the road. (at least 10 meters away)

5. Check if there is any fuel spillage.

6. Check for casualties. (start from those who are quiet and not moving) Are they breathing?

7. Do not pull out an unconscious person from the car if there is no risk of fire or explosion.

8. Call 911. Give precise location of the accident. (number of road, direction of travel, mile etc.)

First Aid: Burning oil in the Kitchen

1. Turn off the heat.

2. Soak a cloth under a tap water.

3. Cover a pot with the cloth, while keeping your head away from fire.

4. Wait until its cool down. DO NOT THROW WATER OVER THE FIRE. Adding water to burning oil will cause an explosion! Don’t try to move a burning pot!

Job of 911 operator

In reality, an operator receives about 150 call during a duty. Almost 3/4 of those calls are ignorable. Those are empty calls, mistaken calls, unreasonable questions or pranks in most of the cases. Out of all the others, only about 25% actually needed a intervention of the emergency units. The most popular incidents are car collisions, domestic violence, loud behaviour and health problems. Although we’ve tried to represent the routine of the operator’s job, we’ve decided to change the real proportions of calls in order to make the game more enjoyable.