Friday, August 8, 2008

Dial 911 and die

Another person who called 911 for assistance has died, as the dispatcher sent rescue to the wrong house.

First they lost 18 minutes figuring out the right street, but even after the confusion (Wells ... Wales, I can see the confusion) it took another 19 minutes before an ambulance was dispatched!

This person died from medical issues, maybe she could have been saved.
Imagine the same situation with somebody beating down your door, or with an abusive spouse ... a burglar or anybody else who intends to injure or kill you; how long would it take for you to get through to the operator, would he/she be able to send help immediately and how fast would help arrive?

Survive untill it does.

1 comment:

Ryan said...

It is the sad fact that (despite any good intentions) unless a cop happens to drive by and see something happening they must be called and then the caller must survive until they arrive.

So you need to be able to get to a phone, call the cops and protect yourself for somewhere between 5 minutes and an hour until the cops come. Most of the time it is the sad fact that whatever problem you are suffering will be over one way or another by then.