Calling 911? FORGET ABOUT IT!

[You'll shoot your eye out]

Just now, at 1800 hrs. a transformer or something blew in the trailer court behind my neighborhood. I am 1/2 mile away and the blue and orange arcing is visible like it's in my front yard..... My house is facing AWAY from the fire and I am seeing it reflecting in the snow. It looks like MY house is on fire, it was so bright! Plainly an electrical arcing event. What would anybody do? I called 911 to get the firemen there before somebody gets killed........ I was answered by an automated system, telling me that they were busy. I am on the phone for 8 minutes before I gave up and hang up my phone. 8 minutes....... You know what? If they don't care, why should I? I finally heard sirens at 20 minutes after the time I tried to call it in, Somebody must have got through. I sure hope nobody got shocked, or burned to death.

Now the thought crosses my mind that if I was in trouble, let's say having a stroke (been there, done that), or my house was on fire (been there, done that), or was having thugs breaking down my door, it would take in excess of 8 minutes to call it in at all, let alone the response time.

I have only called 911 twice before this. The first time my house was on fire. The lady responded with "Now sir..... What makes you THINK that your house is on fire?" I responded that the reason that I thought my house was on fire was because the orange crackling part was getting bigger and the blue part was getting smaller..... NOW SEND THAT F***ING FIRETRUCK!!!! She hung up on me. My house burned for twenty minutes before the firetrucks arrived, a neighbor having called it in also. Official response time was called 4 minutes (a firehouse is only a mile away).

The second time, I was stroking out. I will admit that firemen and paramedics appeared like they fell out of the sky that time. I don't think that the phone had hit the floor before they had me under control and heading out to the ambulance.

My experience with 911 looks to be about 33% effective. Is that the best we can do? We spend much time ripping on cops and emergency response people for incompetents, but what about the 'tards that they rely on to be able to do their jobs? I am on hold 8 minutes? REALLY? I don't even know what to say....... I want everybody who reads this to stop, push away the keyboard and wait 8 minutes....... Just see how exactly long that is. Think about a loved one bleeding out for 8 MINUTES while you putz around on the phone waiting for someone to pickup. I just don't have the words to convey my contempt for the people who call themselves the leaders in this community........ just wow.

 

[TRWXXA]

That's what you get for depending on the assistance of the government. What did you expect?

 

[mrjarrell]

Dial 911 and DIE

 

[wtfd661]

Well maybe because there is only so much tax money to spend on personnel, and maybe the employees they have were already busy with other emergency calls.

 

[IndyDave1776]

I would say that the bottom line is that any time you rely on others you are taking a gamble. Those responding may simply be overwhelmed by sheer volume, may not be feeling especially motivated, may have a vehicle break down on the way, may have a vehicle accident on the way, may have a dispatcher who is not operating efficiently, or any number of other less likely events adversely affecting performance. While I have to wonder about the 4 minute official response time contrasted with a much longer time in actuality, the bottom line is that if you are not prepared to deal with it yourself (as most of us have some things we are not completely prepared for) you are not prepared. Simple as that.

 

[wtfd661]

And if there ever was a thread that called for this smiley more than this thread I haven't read it yet

 

[IndyDave1776]

And if there ever was a thread that called for this smiley more than this thread I haven't read it yet

Is that a dyslexic ''?

 

[wtfd661]

Is that a dyslexic ''?

 

[Rehab]

I called 911 one time, because I didn't want to have to shoot an intoxicated dude that damaged my property and refused to leave. He was on an ATV too. Well he finally drove off when he saw the cops. Also damaged the kids trampoline. Well they find him the next morning. They had an all out man hunt. Well he was off his "meds" so they didn't let me charge him.

 

[firecadet613]

I had the same experience years ago. Wife came home to see we had been broken into. I called 911, put on hold. Hung up, called my brother who's a fireman, then called 911 back. Had a fire truck there in minutes, before the dispatcher even answered. Over an hour later an officer showed up. We sold that house and moved. Now its a five minute wait, if that, for a VIN check.

 

[Frosty]

They were probably busy with calls like my car is stuck in the driveway or my power is out, or the classic, when will the cable tv be fixed... You see how this would limit the time allowed for mundane and pointless calls such as yours.

 

[bluewraith]

Keep in mind, most dispatch centers have 2 to 6 people working the phones. If you could see this from a half mile away, then that leaves at *least* 1 square mile of population that could see it. Factor in roughly 25% of the people calling about just this one incident, and you've overloaded the system already. Not to mention the severe weather that is going on now, and everybodies grandma who stubs their toe or runs low on O2 calling in.

Control wasn't just sitting there eating a slice of pizza. They are overworked on nights like tonight. Firetrucks aren't magical snow-proof trucks either. Response times during a heavy snow like this will be greater then normal, if they can even make it at all.

911 is not a magical number just for you to call, its also for the other 30,000 residents.

 

[You'll shoot your eye out]

You know, I understand that everybody is busy, especially right now. I am not angry at the people as much as I am at the SYSTEM. There should be a triage system where they weigh the relative dangers and expedite the bad ones in preference to the silly ones. But wait, that won't work. They can't triage anything if they can't even answer the phone.

Let's see....... America has more people incarcerated than all the rest of the world combined. People just sitting, doing time. jobs in stir pay 10 to 25 cents an hour. We can't get trustees by the hundreds working screening calls? Yes, i know it's a ridiculously stupid idea..... But not as stupid as keeping emergency calls on hold while about a million watts arc around and through a trailer court.

I probably couldn't do the job in dispatch. But if I couldn't do a better job than the guys who RUN the place does, I wouldn't show myself in public. The average housewife juggles more with better results than our leaders do.

 

[IndyGunworks]

Just now, at 1800 hrs. a transformer or something blew in the trailer court behind my neighborhood. I am 1/2 mile away and the blue and orange arcing is visible like it's in my front yard..... My house is facing AWAY from the fire and I am seeing it reflecting in the snow. It looks like MY house is on fire, it was so bright! Plainly an electrical arcing event. What would anybody do? I called 911 to get the firemen there before somebody gets killed........ I was answered by an automated system, telling me that they were busy. I am on the phone for 8 minutes before I gave up and hang up my phone. 8 minutes....... You know what? If they don't care, why should I? I finally heard sirens at 20 minutes after the time I tried to call it in, Somebody must have got through. I sure hope nobody got shocked, or burned to death.

Now the thought crosses my mind that if I was in trouble, let's say having a stroke (been there, done that), or my house was on fire (been there, done that), or was having thugs breaking down my door, it would take in excess of 8 minutes to call it in at all, let alone the response time.

I have only called 911 twice before this. The first time my house was on fire. The lady responded with "Now sir..... What makes you THINK that your house is on fire?" I responded that the reason that I thought my house was on fire was because the orange crackling part was getting bigger and the blue part was getting smaller..... NOW SEND THAT F***ING FIRETRUCK!!!! She hung up on me. My house burned for twenty minutes before the firetrucks arrived, a neighbor having called it in also. Official response time was called 4 minutes (a firehouse is only a mile away).

The second time, I was stroking out. I will admit that firemen and paramedics appeared like they fell out of the sky that time. I don't think that the phone had hit the floor before they had me under control and heading out to the ambulance.

My experience with 911 looks to be about 33% effective. Is that the best we can do? We spend much time ripping on cops and emergency response people for incompetents, but what about the 'tards that they rely on to be able to do their jobs? I am on hold 8 minutes? REALLY? I don't even know what to say....... I want everybody who reads this to stop, push away the keyboard and wait 8 minutes....... Just see how exactly long that is. Think about a loved one bleeding out for 8 MINUTES while you putz around on the phone waiting for someone to pickup. I just don't have the words to convey my contempt for the people who call themselves the leaders in this community........ just wow.

Not justifying it, but when the storm first hit we went into "surge" mode. extra personel were called in for dispatching, and certain types of runs dedicated to a certain radio channel. at one point they were dispating one run every 5 seconds. Not sure what they could have done better. HALF of those runs were not things that 911 needed to be called for and a simple taxi would have sufficed. That's the root of the problem.

I would say that the bottom line is that any time you rely on others you are taking a gamble. Those responding may simply be overwhelmed by sheer volume, may not be feeling especially motivated, may have a vehicle break down on the way, may have a vehicle accident on the way, may have a dispatcher who is not operating efficiently, or any number of other less likely events adversely affecting performance. While I have to wonder about the 4 minute official response time contrasted with a much longer time in actuality, the bottom line is that if you are not prepared to deal with it yourself (as most of us have some things we are not completely prepared for) you are not prepared. Simple as that.

Since no run was generated when he had called originally there was nothing to "respond to"..... once the actual run was generated and the tones dropped in the firehouse that's when the response time began.

I cannot and will not speak to why the dispatcher handled that phone call the way they did though.

 

[IndyGunworks]

You know, I understand that everybody is busy, especially right now. I am not angry at the people as much as I am at the SYSTEM. There should be a triage system where they weigh the relative dangers and expedite the bad ones in preference to the silly ones. But wait, that won't work. They can't triage anything if they can't even answer the phone.

Let's see....... America has more people incarcerated than all the rest of the world combined. People just sitting, doing time. jobs in stir pay 10 to 25 cents an hour. We can't get trustees by the hundreds working screening calls? Yes, i know it's a ridiculously stupid idea..... But not as stupid as keeping emergency calls on hold while about a million watts arc around and through a trailer court.

I probably couldn't do the job in dispatch. But if I couldn't do a better job than the guys who RUN the place does, I wouldn't show myself in public. The average housewife juggles more with better results than our leaders do.

I invite you to come ride out with IFD. after a few hours at a busy firehouse you will understand the flaws in your idea. Also, you should ask about a tour to MECCA... you really don't want felons answering 911 phone calls. Its not entry level type work. Its a very dynamic job, that requires experience, training, technical knowledge, and good communication skills, not an asset I think many felons have, they are felons for a reason.

well gotta go.... 24th run for the day

 

[IndyGunworks]

and just to prove the point a small bit further. That run was a 4 year old that fell off a couch and ended up with a small lower earlobe tear. probably 4 or 5 stitches, but DEFINATLY needed to go to the ER. The family wanted to take him themselves, but saw on the news that they mayor had said driving on the roads was illegal. hence the 911 call. Storms like these just magnify the problem. All in all I think our dispatchers have done a prenominal job today. The "surge mode" protocols really seem to be doing a good job since they started using them a couple a years ago.

 

[freekforge]

I agree with indygunworks i was offered a job as a police dispatcher while still in school and after seeing what all you had to be able to do I had to turn it down there is no way your average prison trustee can do that stuff. For the all the dumb calls and serious calls these folks are gettin they are doing a pretty good job

 

[Spanky46151]

They were probably busy with calls like my car is stuck in the driveway or my power is out, or the classic, when will the cable tv be fixed... You see how this would limit the time allowed for mundane and pointless calls such as yours.

+1

 

[Caleb]

I hit an owl couple weeks ago, spent a good 30 mins trying to get a hold of brown county Sheriff, nashville police, DNR to report an injured bird and either take it to a vet or put it out of it's misery.


Never got a hold of anybody....the owl ended up hobbling it's way off the field into the darkness.

 

[IndyGunworks]

Ill add more to the point. Two more runs overnight, both weather related that had it not been for this front wouldn't have been runs. Diaphram ruptured on a gas meter, fairly large leak, and faulty fire alarm at a pep boys.

If you were to see the sheer volume of calls they handled I think you would be giving atta boys as well. and as of 540 this morning they are still dispatching in surge mode cas we got the pep boys as a modified building response