Friday, August 08, 2008

Fire Press Release

ISSUING OFFICER: Craig Cornelius / Battalion Chief
DATE OF INCIDENT: 8/8/2008
INCIDENT TYPE: Structure Fire
INCIDENT ADDRESS: 2428 W 14th
CITY: Spokane
STATE: WA
ZIP: 99201

NARRATIVE: On August 7th 2008, at approximately 0700 hours the Spokane Fire Department dispatched 3 Engines, 2 Ladders, 1 Heavy Rescue apparatus and 2 Chief Officers to a reported home fire at 2428 W. 14th Ave. The first two arriving apparatus were Engine 4 and Ladder 4. Lieutenants Jay Holder and Ryan Reding reported smoke showing upon their arrival. They quickly directed their crews to search the home and to start extinguishment of the fire. Due to Station 4's quick actions the fire that had extended from the bathroom area into the attic was rapidly knocked down. The elderly couple that lived in the home were medically checked out. No injuries occurred at this fire and the fire damage was confined to the bathroom and the attic area above. The fire is still being investigated, but early indicators are pointing towards a faulty fan unit in the bathroom ceiling

PROBABLE CAUSE: Still under investigation.
DAMAGE EXTENT: Fire damage to the back bathroom and attic.
DOLLAR LOSS: 5000
FIREFIGHTER RESPONSE: 24
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 RELEAS

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Communities starting to crack down on frivolous 9-1-1 calls!

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.