​Do not panic. A calm mind can think better. 

Being late for work, a flight, or an appointment does not constitute an emergency. It is an urgent situation, and you should let your locksmith know. But it is not an emergency. 

Do not rush your service provider. Avoid repeatedly calling him to rush him. His getting distracted by you may lead to a traffic accident - and you'll be delayed even more. 

Trapped in Room or Bathroom. 

If you have a crying, panicked child trapped in a room or bathroom, and you're outside, you're in charge. As the leader in this situation, you absolutely must stay calm. You may be fearful but you must try your best not to show it. 

Reassure your child that everything is under control and keep talking to him or her. 

Call a locksmith - ideally one you trust and whose number you've saved on your cellphone - and tell him what has happened, send pictures of the lock to him. 

You can slip a piece of paper or sketch book under the door to keep your child occupied and keep the child near the door and away from a window. If you live in a high-rise flat with an unlocked window, it is particularly important to keep the child away from the window. 

Keep talking to stay engaged until your locksmith arrives. If you can pass a phone to him or her that would also help. 

If you child keeps screaming and crying, that means he is safe and in the room. 
If he goes silent, ask questions, start a conversation. Remember. Stay calm. 

The same will apply to a senior or any adult who is trapped. If he or she is injured, or unresponsive, please call emergency services such as the SCDF. A locksmith cannot and should not be called to do what a firefighter or paramedic does.

​In an emergency, there's no time to spare. 

This is why you need to manage your keys. Here's what you can do.

Gather every key you can find in your home. Prepare labels and key rings.

Test every key against every door and lock you have in your home. Insert, but do not force it. Turn it. If it cannot be turned, it's not the right key. If it can be inserted and turned, lock the door and test the key. If it matches, it's the correct key.

Label the key (e.g. Bedroom 2, Master Bathroom 1, etc.) and put the set of labeled keys in a pouch.  Make sure you have a separate pouch of identical keys. If you don't, go to a key shop and duplicate a set or two.

Discard keys that are irrelevant to any lock in the home. This will avoid clutter and confusion.

You can use a key press (a small key cabinet) and place it in a easily accessible location in your home that all relevant adults are aware of.

If you change a lock, make sure you replace the old keys and update the key pouch, key press.

​Is it feasible to change or install a lock on your own? It depends on the type of door lock. For general door locks, if the lock body is not damaged, you only need to replace the lock cylinder with a new one. If you know how to do it. We've been called to jobs where customers can't complete the job and damage the mechanism.

If it is a relatively simple, basic door lock such as a cylindrical door lock, it can be completely replaced, if you have experience doing this. Beware that there are small parts in the door lock mechanism and correct installation is important too. If you are not careful, you may lose the parts and mess up the assembly or installation. 

If you have no experience, we advise that you engage the services of a professional locksmith to replace them. 

Often, when people attempt to remove a faulty or locked doorlock, they do so much damage that it's not possible to unlock the door without additional work, time and materials. And the door is still stuck. 

Worse, bashing the lock handle, drilling it indiscriminately, gouging out the metal, etc. will greatly risk damage to the door or doorframe. Not only that, the wood may be so damaged that a new lock cannot be fitted. 

All this can amount to far higher and unnecessary repair costs than was originally expected.