Called 911 earlier

[Glock]

We had a tree fall across the power lines and start to burn. The power line poped a few times and continued to burn. I tried calling 911 but couldn't get through. No answer.... Tried a different phone without any luck. I understand that the system my have been busy due to the storm that had just come though but what if someone had a real life or death situation on their hands? This drives home that fact that I am responsible for my own and my families safety.

The power line poped for about 6 minutes and eventually went dead... or what appeared to be dead. I didn't test it. The tree was extinguished by the rain.

 

[Mackey]

That's scary stuff.

 

[churchmouse]

That's scary stuff.

Yes and true....you are on your own. There are only so many assets available and they are used as seen fit by those in charge of the assets.

 

[revance]

Where do you live?

The times I have called in Marion Co. I have gotten an "all operators are busy..." recording and had to wait a long time.

 

[Cozy439]

In our area when your primary 911 center is busy, the calls roll over to another diaspatch center ie from a CITY to COUNTY to State police. After a given # of rings this rolls over. There always SHOULD be someone to answer your 911 call

 

[eldirector]

911 is fairly useless for emergencies. Pretty good if you are calling for "clean up", and not in a hurry.

You'd probably do better calling the power company. I've gotten through to them following a lightning strike, and they had a truck out in minutes.

 

[Plisken]

911 government sponsored dial a prayer

 

[Glock]

911 is fairly useless for emergencies. Pretty good if you are calling for "clean up", and not in a hurry.

You'd probably do better calling the power company. I've gotten through to them following a lightning strike, and they had a truck out in minutes.

I was in Morgan county. I tried calling REMC and couldn't get through because I didn't have an account number. Finally got the attention of the town maintenance.

If someone had been hurt we would be on our own. This is one of the reasons I value medical training above guns and gear.

 

[Thegeek]

IPL has a dedicated emergency number.... too bad it's so fracking hard to find.

 

[eldirector]

IPL has a dedicated emergency number.... too bad it's so fracking hard to find.

I don't know where we got it (maybe at the county fair?), but we have a list of local emergency numbers as a magnet stuck to the fridge. Has all of the local utility providers, all of the local government offices, and the non-emergency numbers for fire, police, EMT, etc.... Super handy, especially for stuff like in the OP. We added the cable TV number (our phone is through them), and a couple of the neighbors.

 

[cavakilla]

I don't call 911 anymore... the routing system is so screwed they have to transfer you 90% of the time. Just find the non emergency number for dispatch you will get help much quicker... And I agree with eldirector make a list on paper put somewhere you can find it. Internet or smartphone may not always be available...

 

[LeadPharmer]

I have my local police department (and the County Sheriff's Office) stored in my phone's contacts. You never know when you'll need the number for non-emergency and don't have time to look it up (suspicious person peering in neighbor's windows or something).

I'd imagine it would have served well in the instance that 9-1-1 is down.

 

[teejay422]

I think the real scare is the volume of people that depend on their smartphones for everything. We used to get along without them, but with google in the palm of your hand, people forget to use them (hands) for anything else.

 

[mbills2223]

I have to give props to Marion County 911. I witnessed an accident about a month ago at 71st and Allisonville late at night. Had my girlfriend at the time (now fiancee) dial 911 and I got out to check on people. She got right through and within seconds of her hanging up I heard the siren, and within about two minutes there was an officer on the scene. Ambulance showed up about five minutes later but wasn't needed. Obviously this won't always be the case.

 

[teejay422]

I think the real scare is the volume of people that depend on their smartphones for everything. We used to get along without them, but with google in the palm of your hand, people forget to use them (hands) for anything else.

To clarify, this wasn't a shot at the OP for trying to call, but a shot at those who can't find their bum without two hands and an app to navigate them.

 

[Glock]

To clarify, this wasn't a shot at the OP for trying to call, but a shot at those who can't find their bum without two hands and an app to navigate them.

All I could do is clear the area and make sure no one came close to it. It sure did look dead after a few minutes but I sure wasn't going to find out.