Erik Vaunters loves gas masks. “I just think they look cool,” says Erik. “They’re the ultimate fashion accessory. I look like such a bad ass when I’m wearing my mask, it’s like I belong in some sort of post-apocalyptic movie. I never thought it would save my life, though — but it did!”

Erik belongs to a growing community of ravers who were saved by their odd taste in fashion accessories. “My apartment caught on fire just as i was getting ready to go party,” says Erik. “The flames made it impossible to escape, and the smoke was getting really thick. If I didn’t have my gas mask on me, I would have been a goner.”

After his brush with death, Erik turned to the internet to see if there were other ravers out there who had similar life saving experiences as his. “That’s when I found Saved By Accessories,” says Erik. “It’s a community more people need to know about.”

Founded by Bonnie Stacks in 2008, Saved By Accessories has been spreading joy and saving lives for countless years. “I started SBA after my own harrowing experience,” says Bonnie. “Everyone used to make fun of me for wearing goggles at parties, but those goggles stopped me from going blind.”

Bonnie was dancing her heart out at an underground rave when a pipe carrying steaming hot water burst right in front of her. “It was a freak accident. That’s what happens when you party where you’re not supposed to. The water from the pipe was scalding hot, and it was directed right at my eyes. I’m convinced I would have gone blind if I had’t had my crazy goggles on. I still have third degree burns from the water splashing off my goggles and landing on my arms.”

Goggles and gas masks aren’t the only accessories that have saved ravers from dying. “I used my detachable fox tail as a tourniquet after receiving a major leg wound in a car accident,” says Louis Legault. “If it wasn’t for my fondness for furries, I might have died from blood loss.”

One raver attributes his own survival to his Pikachu backpack. “I’d always wear this giant pokemon inspired backpack to all the parties I went to. One day, though, I accidentally fell off a bridge into a river with very strong currents. My Pikachu backpack proved to be exceptionally buoyant, and it stopped me from drowning.”

Stories like these are incredibly common at Saved By Accessories. “A lot of people don’t realize just how many lives dressing like a raver has saved,” says Bonnie. “Raver fashion saves lives. It really does."