Please don’t rearrange our shoes when we turn up, paramedics in Japan urge
Firefighters in Kanazawa, Japan, are asking residents not to rearrange their shoes when they enter homes for emergency calls. Paramedics position their shoes specifically to allow for a quick, efficient exit while carrying stretchers, and moving them can cause delays.
Why it matters
It highlights the tension between traditional cultural etiquette and the practical, life-saving requirements of emergency services.
The fire department in the central city of Kanazawa has urged people not to tidy up the shoes that paramedic crews have taken off when entering a house. The fire department in the central city of Kanazawa has urged people not to tidy up the shoes that paramedic crews have taken off when entering a house. Japan Please don’t rearrange our shoes when we turn up, paramedics in Japan urge It is polite to reposition a guest’s shoes when they arrive, but the emergency services in one city advise just skipping that part
Prefer the Guardian on Google Etiquette, manners and consideration for others are integral pillars of Japanese society but there are times when they might go a step too far, according to one city’s emergency services.
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