Recently we had a third-party cell phone call for a lady slumped over the wheel at a bank drive-through. Turns out she was waiting for the bank to open, and she wasn't paying attention to her posture. Ah scoliosis, the silent killer.
Looks like we're not the only ones who get 9-1-1 calls simply because it's free to call on a cell phone. Other places are realizing what it's costing them and doing something about it.
I would really like the opportunity to call the cell phone callers back. Not to be a jerk, but just to let them know that their reporting a lady waiting at a bank / a bag of leaves on a lawn / a water sprinkler/ a flag flying in the breeze/ lawn art/ a walking drunk man / a billboard advertisement/ a guy napping/ a baby upchucking/ a woman breastfeeding/ a stuck pair of suspenders/ circus clowns eating lunch/ not a chupacabra/ fog/ a skunk - set this diesel-exhaust-spewing 9-1-1 machine in motion. I wonder if some people do this because they think it is funny.
Maybe there should be a law that if you call 9-1-1, you have to stay on-scene until we get there. Maybe we should charge 25 cents per call - a small price to pay if it truly is an emergency. The money could go into our fuel account.
The silliness has to stop. And it looks like other places are figuring out ways to do just that.
If there are truly terrorists at work trying to bankrupt our cities and our nation, I would think that using a cell phone to dial 9-1-1 for frivolous reasons is an effective way to accomplish their mission of economic havoc. Perhaps there is some homeland security money we can procure to stop them.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Fire Press Release
SSUING OFFICER: Battalion Chief Steve Sabo
DATE OF INCIDENT: 8/2/2008
INCIDENT TYPE: Structure Fire
INCIDENT ADDRESS: 1313 N. Ruby St.
CITY: Spokane
STATE: WA
ZIP: 99202
NARRATIVE: At 0630 this morning, Saturday August 2, 2008, the Spokane Fire Department responded to a reported fire in Sonic restaurant at 1313 N. Ruby. The first crews on scene reported a fire behind the fryer unit in the kitchen. The fire was quickly knocked down, and there was no fire extension to the structure. Damage was confined to the fryer unit, with minor smoke damage throughout the restaurant. Health officials were notified of the situation and are expected to conduct an inspection of the restaurant prior to the business resuming operation.
PROBABLE CAUSE: The cause of the fire was the fryer unit. Fire investigators have yet to determine whether the unit malfunctioned or whether there may have been maintenance problems.
DAMAGE EXTENT: Damage to the structure and contents is estimated to be $12,000.
DOLLAR LOSS: 12000
FIREFIGHTER RESPONSE: 29
MUTUAL AID: None Given
For more information on this release, please call (509)625-7002 and/or check out the SFD Blog at www.spokanefire.blogspot.com
END OF RELEASE
DATE OF INCIDENT: 8/2/2008
INCIDENT TYPE: Structure Fire
INCIDENT ADDRESS: 1313 N. Ruby St.
CITY: Spokane
STATE: WA
ZIP: 99202
NARRATIVE: At 0630 this morning, Saturday August 2, 2008, the Spokane Fire Department responded to a reported fire in Sonic restaurant at 1313 N. Ruby. The first crews on scene reported a fire behind the fryer unit in the kitchen. The fire was quickly knocked down, and there was no fire extension to the structure. Damage was confined to the fryer unit, with minor smoke damage throughout the restaurant. Health officials were notified of the situation and are expected to conduct an inspection of the restaurant prior to the business resuming operation.
PROBABLE CAUSE: The cause of the fire was the fryer unit. Fire investigators have yet to determine whether the unit malfunctioned or whether there may have been maintenance problems.
DAMAGE EXTENT: Damage to the structure and contents is estimated to be $12,000.
DOLLAR LOSS: 12000
FIREFIGHTER RESPONSE: 29
MUTUAL AID: None Given
For more information on this release, please call (509)625-7002 and/or check out the SFD Blog at www.spokanefire.blogspot.com
END OF RELEASE
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