JimmieJoe / KC6YRU

When calling 9-1-1, many people are having their worst day ever.  Whatever is happening, from a medical problem to finding their home burglarized, it’s now pretty well ingrained in folks to call 9-1-1.  We still get calls where someone has called a friend or relative first, and they call 9-1-1, but generally speaking, we’re first on most lists.  Sometimes it’s difficult to categorize the call as a real emergency, but we’ll do the best we can.  Sometimes a call to 9-1-1 can prevent an emergency.

Tonight we got such a call, and we had a happy ending.  A caller dials up 9-1-1 and tells the operator that earlier that day they had lunch at a small cafe in one of our mountain communities.  The lady left her purse in the restaurant when they left, and did not miss it until late in the evening.  This was a case where a lost purse could have had terrible consequences.  Inside the purse was medication for the family’s young son, a 7 year old cancer victim.  If the purse and it’s medication could not be found, the family would have to immediately leave and return to southern California to acquire the proper treatment for the boy.  They were back at the cafe, but it was now late at night, and the business was closed.  At a loss for what to do, the call to 9-1-1 was placed.  While we will do our best no matter who is involved, when you tell a bunch of dispatchers (or deputies, officers, firemen, or EMTs) that a child is involved we’ll move Heaven and Earth to get the job done.

More