Re: 911:: off duty dispatchers at accident scenes

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 8/16/00 11:27:20 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

mpanitz@... writes:

<< but what if it was the dispatcher that happen to see the accident occur?

or was

the first one to stop to render aid (and call in it)- would they still

get a reprimand for being at

the accident scene? >>

One can never tell about my department! <LOL>

Seriously, I was in a foul mood about my dept yesterday and made a note about

having had a frustrating evening...mostly that post was a vent and not to be

taken too literally....

Coleen

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 00-08-16 11:27:31 EDT, you write:

<<

but what if it was the dispatcher that happen to see the accident occur?

or was

the first one to stop to render aid (and call in it)- would they still

get a reprimand for being at

the accident scene?

>>

Shortly after I started my job I had a situation come up along these lines.

Aside from just noticing that the person in front of me on line looks really

crummy, is having trouble standing, rubbing their arm and has glazed eyes, I

have first aid training.

This happened to me last November. I was on a day off, went to run an errand

and there was an elderly gentleman ahead of me on line doing all of the

above. I asked him if he needed some water or wanted to sit down.... he said

no....I asked if he wanted to call 911. He said no. Well I can't MAKE the

man call 911 so I let him go about his business and I went about mine.....ok,

I kept an eye on him till he got in his car.

I thought if he was in his car he was doing ok and I headed out of the

parking lot and he turned up in front of me. Right from the parking lot he

pulled into oncoming traffic, ran a red light, pulled into oncoming traffic

again and I decided to call 911 ..... from my cell I got the Highway patrol,

asked for the local PD and identified myself as an off duty dispatcher and

what I observed, requested an ambulance and a patrol unit because by this

point I was pretty sure he was having or had had a stroke. I emphasized OFF

DUTY so there would no NO misundertanding that I was just another person on

her day off. They did ask me to stay on the phone until the unit came along.

He was weaving, ran 2 more red lights, almost broadsided one car, drove in

oncoming lanes.....and I related it step by step, describing his car, my car

(and my flashers were on so their unit could ID me) and he did finally stop

-- broad siding a car. eeeuuuuuuu....... I NEVER thought I'd be the first

person on scene of an accident where there was some blood, a man I had no

doubt had a stroke and traffic all around.......I was supposed to be the one

who was in a headset safe inside a building not make major decisions like

this, right?

Well I made sure everyone was breathing..... still on the phone.... the local

PD dispatcher was, of course, absolutely great.......got to this gentleman

and he had no clue where he was, what happened and why his car wouldn't

start...... I said into the phone " umm, maybe we need 2 tow trucks too if you

could.? " I guess because I had a cell phone and was walking around with a

flare in my hand people thought I knew what was doing so they left me alone

and we got the cars moved off to the side -- all this was maybe 4 - 5 minutes

but it felt like a life time to me. The patrol car finally showed (yeah, 5

minutes......like I said, it felt like forever) and the ambulance right

behind it and I checked in with the senior officer, gave my name and number

and went home.....swearing never again to leave my house on my day off.

I didn't say a word at work -- I was on my day off, you know?

Well, a few days before Christmas I just got in from my midnight shift and

there's this pounding on my door.....grumbling about needing to sleep and

giong back to work in a few hours I ansnwered teh door. It was this

gentleman and his daughter with a holiday gift for me -- they tracked me down

from the police report. You know I just happened to be there at the

time.....I didn't go looking for it ... I was just there so it wasn't

anything special for me.....it was my day off. He had had a stroke, we

recovering really well and his daughter told me that the doctor said it was

my thinking to ask for the ambulance so fast that saved his life. They were

really nice people.

Well, my one cat was allergic to the gift so I had to give it to someone and

brought it into work looking for someone who would enjoy it and that was the

only time I mentioned it. It was just my day off and I still feel weird

about it.