LOL… just LOL

October 20, 2012

Jim Reeves 9-1-1, commentary, Humor , , , , , 1 Comment

I don’t dispatch medical, so I had to look up the acronym ETOH.  It refers to ethyl alcohol…  booze.

Caller of the week. Maybe of the month!

October 9, 2012

Jim Reeves 9-1-1, commentary, Humor , , 1 Comment

The Tulare County jail is a building now 50 years old.  Opened in the very early 1960’s, it’s the state-of-the-art in jail design.  For the late 1950’s.  It’s been through a lot in those 50 years, and as with anything of that age, it’s starting to show some wear and tear.  Even our “guests” notice.

I took a call last night that has to be, at the very least, the call of the week, and it was about our jail.

A gentleman called in, at about 1:30 in the morning, and threw me a curve ball.  This was a first.  He sounded a bit tipsy, and I expected to hear a rant about no telling what.  He identified himself (and as I say in my “about” blurb, names are omitted to protect the innocent) and said he needed some information on who to call about the condition of our jail.  I was ready to give him the direct number to the jail, but as he rattled on, it became clear that would not do.

Seems Mr. (name omitted) has set himself the goal of getting us a new jail.  He was recently released after  a stay of undisclosed tenure, and is not happy with the conditions of the current facilities.  He said he understood that it was a jail, “but really?”.  He was adamant that he was going to get us a new jail, and wanted to know who he needed to call.

It was at this point I decided to have a bit of fun.

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Some work codes

September 17, 2012

Jim Reeves 9-1-1, commentary , , , 10 Comments

SheriffBadgeGenericA lot of people like listening to the scanner, and keeping an ear on the happenings in their area.  Whether they listen to local police, sheriff, fire departments, ambulances, or other emergency services, often times it can be challenging to understand what is going on.  Codes and abbreviations can obscure the meanings of various transmissions, making the action difficult to follow.  I’ve compiled a short list of the most common codes used at my agency, and if you listen, you’ll definitely hear me use them.  I usually put up a notice on Facebook which channel I’m working, so if you ‘friend’ me there, you’ll know when I’m on, and on which channel.

Here’s the lowdown on channels you can monitor from the Internet:

Channel 1 – Primary south county channel.  This covers county areas around Lindsay, Strathmore, Porterville, Lake Success, the mountain areas including Springville, Camp Nelson, Ponderosa, Johnsondale, the Kern River area, California Hot Springs, Posey, and Kennedy Meadows.  Back on the valley floor, Terra Bella, Ducor, Richgrove, Earlimart, Teviston, Pixley, Tipton, Alpaugh, Allensworth, and the southwest part of Tulare county near Corcoran and Delano.

Channel 2 – Primary north county channel.  Coverage is Tulare, Visalia, Goshen, New London, Traver, Kingsburg, Dinuba, Delft Colony, Sultana, Yettem, Cutler-Orosi, Ivanhoe, Woodlake, Farmersville, Exeter, Lemon Cove, Lindcove, Kaweah Lake, Three Rivers, and mountain areas north of approximately Avenue 232.

You can monitor Channel one here.
Monitor channel two here.

You can also listen on your smart phones, on various scanner apps.  I use 5-0 Radio, and Scanner 911 on my iPhone.

After the jump, you’ll find the codes we use the most frequently.

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The Other Road

September 9, 2012

Jim Reeves 9-1-1, commentary, Personal , , , Leave a comment

That title is not a “road not taken” musing, it’s an actual street name in my county!

After more than 18 years at the same agency, you’d think I’d have run across every street name in the county by now, especially if they’re not in a new sub-division.  Saturday sprung a new one on me, however.  “The Other Road”.  It’s in the Kennedy Meadows area of southeastern Tulare County, and I’ve not heard of it before.  Neither had I heard of a road that intersects with it…  “Up The Hill Road”.

In my defense, while we have a resident Deputy that covers the area (two of them, actually), we almost never get any calls for service from this part of our county.  It’s remote…  very remote.  If a Deputy or backup has to come from the nearest substation, it’s at least two hours.  Deputies for that patrol this area have to be a special breed, which is appropriate, since the folks that live out there are a special breed themselves.

When I first heard a fellow dispatcher taking a call from an address on “The Other Road”, we both first thought we were dealing with someone who simply did not know the name of the other road.  Turns out WE were the ones who didn’t know!

Now I’m going to be looking over the maps during slow time, to see what other odd names crop up.  Years ago the County changed the name of a creek to Negro Creek.  I’m sure you can figure out what the old name was.

A Woman, A Sweaty Horse, and 9-1-1

August 14, 2012

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“I say.. I say… dial 9-1-1, son. Quickly, now…”

August 3, 2012

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(That title should be read in the voice of Foghorn Leghorn)

You never know what you’ll hear on the other end of a 9-1-1 call.  Here’s one I took the other night.

Now, this came in from a disconnected cell phone, so there was no way to pin-point it’s location, and no way to call it back.

Fortunately, these chickens sounded Code 4 (no assistance needed) to my ear, so I’m not real concerned about their status. (the voices you hear are background noises in the dispatch center, picked up when I transferred the recording to my phone.  The call was only clucking.)

When I was a kid, we raised some chickens, and I learned the difference between contented clucking, and panic clucking.  This sounds like contented clucking, to me.

This was a first.  I’ve never taken a 9-1-1 call, even an accidental one, from a chicken before.  I’ve heard stories of cats and dogs calling 9-1-1 during actual emergencies, but I haven’t experienced that.  Maybe that’s something for the future.

Cluck cluck.

From the Archives, August 10, 2008 – “Stupid Drunk Human Tricks”

June 3, 2012

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I almost titled this one “stupid criminal tricks” but until someone actually gets convicted, I suppose criminal is a bit judgmental….

Here’s the latest story that has us shaking our heads at what people will try to do to get out of trouble. The place and time – State Route 99, south of Pixley, California (in California’s great Central Valley) – about 3am. One of our south county patrol units is driving up 99 towards Pixley, heading back to the Substation. He sees a vehicle displaying all the signs of an intoxicated driver, so he makes a traffic stop. After the normal “license, registration, and insurance” interaction, the deputy gets on the radio and asks to have the CHP dispatched for a drunk driver. I get on the phone and place that call to get them started, when I hear my supervisor pick up a 9-1-1 line, and things start getting interesting…….

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A time warp is the only explanation…

May 22, 2012

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The calendar said it was Monday.  My phone said it was Monday.  The newspaper said it was Monday.  Tulare County seemed to think it was Friday.  Friday of a full Moon.  On a Friday the 13th.

It started off quietly enough.  A nice staffing level, not much going on, things running fairly smoothly.  A nice, calm, reasonable Monday at 9-1-1.  The officers and deputies were all out getting into their routines, as Mondays are generally the beginnings of work weeks for them.  Some subpoenas to be served, maybe a warrant or two, and informants to be talked to, in order to glean intel over events that occurred on the weekend.  We were settling in there in dispatch, looking forward to sedate work shift.  We should have known better.  Just when you think it’s all good…

“WHO SHOT YOUR MOTHER??”

That’s the phrase that led our descent into chaos, nearly shouted by the Duty Officer, on a 9-1-1 call…

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What’s it like at 9-1-1? It’s like this…

May 18, 2012

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Our center is not as roomy or well lit (too many of my co-workers want to work in the dark!), but this video gives a great overview of most modern 9-1-1 centers.  We don’t have to do the medical pre-arrival aspect in our center, that’s handled by the Tulare County Consolidated Ambulance Dispatch staff, and the Tulare County Fire Department has their own dispatch center, but everything else is pretty spot-on.  Whatever the type of call, we deal with it first, directing it to TCCAD or TCFD if required, or taking information and dispatching Tulare County Sheriff Deputies, or police officers from Farmersville, Exeter, Woodlake, and Lindsay Police Departments.  Prince George’s County, Maryland, has a state-of-the-art 9-1-1 center, and is an example to which other centers can aspire.  Every type of incident here, except the medical instructions, is something I’ve dealt with in the past, and just when you think you’ve heard it all, the Universe will toss something at you, as if to say “oh, no you haven’t!”.

And so it ends…

April 15, 2012

Jim Reeves 9-1-1, commentary, Personal , Leave a comment

And so it ends…  another vacation in the history file.

Very little accomplished, few places visited, and no dents in the credit card.

All in all, a quiet, inexpensive “staycation”.

Next up, vacation!  In June. Three more weeks, with San Francisco, Los Angeles, and maybe more in store.

Stay tuned.

I hope I remember how to do a “calling all cars…  calling all cars” broadcast!

 

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