Around 5: 45 p.m. on Sunday Jan. 15, officers arrived at a house on Thomas Road to learn from a 17-year-old resident that it “must have been one of his younger siblings that must have called by accident,” reports Ladysmith detachment spokesman Cpl. Tim Desaulniers. “No adults were home and there was no need for police, fire, or ambulance.”

On Thursday, Jan. 12, it was 3: 35 p.m. when 911 operators received a call from a child in a vehicle, stating that they needed help.

“Extensive patrols were made but the vehicle was not located,” Desaulniers said. “The registered owner was later located and it was determined that the driver had left the vehicle momentarily while the child was asleep, the child awoke and called 911.”

The child’s parent has since explained what constitutes a real emergency, said the officer.

“It’s very important to ensure that children understand the importance of calling 911 when it’s necessary only,” Desaulniers said. “Many don’t understand that police basically drop everything to attend, and when it’s not an emergency, someone else who does require immediate assistance may not get it in a timely manner.”

Desaulniers also said it can put the general public at risk with police attending with lights and sirens to an incident that doesn’t require attendance at all.

Desaulniers said if 911 is called by mistake, it is best to remain on the line and speak with the dispatcher, or to answer the phone when they call back, and explain it was an error.

“Police will likely still attend but will have a better idea of what they are going to,” he said.

Ministry of Education documents show the topic is part of the Kindergarten curriculum in the safety and injury prevention unit.

According to getprepared.ca, the federal government’s website dedicated to emergency preparedness, “Teaching your children how to use 911 is crucial and could save their lives or yours.”

The website offers a four-point plan on how to do so effectively and generally mirrors the provincial education guidelines.

First explain what 911 is. Then, teach children to assess the risks before dialing 911 – do you really need an ambulance or would a Band-Aid do?

Further, explain to the child what type of information to give once they have called 911.

“Teach them that they are then to describe the situation and say where they are. The location of the emergency is always asked first, then the name, location and phone number of the caller. It is important to be as accurate and as clear as possible,” notes the site.

Finally, the site recommends practicing scenarios with children to help make them more familiar with the concept without frightening them.

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CPR helps to keep a person’s blood flowing, particularly to the brain, after the heart has stopped. In the few-minute window between cardiac arrest — when the heart stops — and the arrival of paramedics, maintaining some blood flow can make the difference between life and death, or between permanent brain damage and a chance at recovery.

The AHA already advises 9-1-1 dispatchers to help bystanders provide immediate emergency assistance — first to assess whether a person has had cardiac arrest, and then, if appropriate, to administer CPR. The problem is that 9-1-1 dispatchers don’t always follow those guidelines , according to the new AHA report, published in the journal Circulation.

“It isn’t as common as you think, that you call 9-1-1 and they tell you what to do,” lead author E. Brooke Lerner said in a written statement.

What’s more, bystanders are often reluctant to perform CPR if they haven’t been trained in it before. Most fear they will do more harm than good. That’s why clear, confident instructions from the 9-1-1 dispatcher are so important.

“[T]he chances that you’re going to hurt somebody [while performing CPR] are very, very small,” Lerner says. “And if you do nothing, they’re not getting the help that’s going to save their life.”

More than 380,000 people in the U.S. are assessed for sudden cardiac arrest every year, according to the AHA.

It helps to become familiar with CPR so you feel more comfortable in case you need to help someone, says the AHA. The current CPR protocol includes only chest compressions — firm, rapid pushing on the chest — in most cases, and not the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation that was once better known. Research has found that mouth-to-mouth is often not very effective, and that people tend to feel awkward about it, which may delay CPR onset.

For most adults, only chest compressions are necessary. However, adding mouth-to-mouth — breathing support — is recommended for all infants and children, and for any adults whose cardiac arrest may be caused by asphyxia, such as drowning.

It’s certainly scary to perform CPR, especially for people who aren’t trained to do so, and, even if they are, who don’t perform the process regularly. But it is comforting to know that emergency-response dispatchers can talk you through the proper way to save someone’s life.

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But for dispatchers at the police department’s MetroCom unit, there’s little public recognition for their efforts.

On Thursday, 11 fresh faces were welcomed to the job and recognized by friends and family during a graduation ceremony at the police station for the department’s 42nd training academy.

It’s a position that can be stressful, demanding and one that incurs a high turnover rate, police officials said.

“You’ll have good days and you’ll have bad days, but don’t lose enthusiasm for what you do,” said Interim Police Chief Richard Badaracco. “It’s very important. There will be days when someone’s life depends on you.”

Nearly 150 people applied for this year’s dispatcher academy and police officials chose fewer than a dozen.

About 90 percent of the recruits are women.

Graduate Carrie Knecht had recently moved back to Corpus Christi and was looking for a more fulfilling career than her temporary job at a local bank.

She stumbled upon a dispatcher job posting on a city website.

“I wanted a job that really meant something to me,” she said. “I decided to give it a shot.”

Knecht received the distinction Thursday of having the highest grade average of her class during the six-week training course.

During the academy, students handled real emergency calls. After graduation they will work for two months alongside a trainer before taking calls on their own.

One woman called because a vulture was on her roof and she feared for her children, Knecht said.

Last week, Knecht walked a woman through performing CPR on an unconscious person for the first time.

“That was a little intense,” she said. “At that point you don’t have time to think, you just know what to focus on and you do your job.”

The recruits will join nearly 70 other dispatchers, who take calls for police, fire officials, the city’s animal control and a range of state and federal agencies.

Capt. Jason Brady, who oversees the MetroCom unit, said dispatchers are a critical link between residents and emergency responders.

“When a panicked citizen dials 911, it is the calm voice and quick thinking of the MetroCom call taker who will interpret the needs of the caller and make the necessary determination,” he said.

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School personnel across the system must be fully trained to respond to emergencies, including ones that seem unlikely. The odds may be one in a million, but that is what Jonathan was, too — one of the million kids who show up for class daily.

While the events are under investigation, it appears certain that there was a huge gap between what should have been done in that cafeteria Dec. 5 and what actually happened.

School records indicate Jonathan began choking at the end of his lunch period, at 12:15 p.m. But it was not until 12:29, a full 14 minutes later, that the Emergency Medical Service logged its first 911 call from PS 47. By then, it was too late.

In the interim, according to published reports, a parent and an assistant principal — who had been trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation in November — attempted unsuccessfully to dislodge the meatball from Jonathan’s throat, including performing the Heimlich maneuver.

As well-intentioned as they were, a spokesman for EMS said proper procedure calls for instantly notifying 911. If you are alone, contact 911 before administering aid. If you are not, have one person call 911 as the other gives assistance. EMS operators will talk callers through doing the Heimlich.

After EMS finally got the call about Jonathan, medics arrived in less than four minutes. Respiratory arrest normally sets in four to six minutes after a person begins choking; a rapid response might have saved the fourth-grader’s life.

With every adult carrying a cell phone, all must get the message: Call 911. It’s matter of life and death.

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But behind the story lies a secret: people do not react well in stressful situations unless they have drilled their responses. After over 20 years working with emergency response teams, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having a plan, predicting likely scenarios, and practice, practice, practice.

Ask yourself: when was the last time your family left the house in a fire drill, and gathered at a pre-planned “evacuation point” where you could check to be sure everyone made it out. If that sounds like the gag in a Hollywood movie about an overly wound up parent, think again.

Take the time out with your family to think through the main situations that could arise in your life. If you are in a zone subject to tornados, hurricanes, floods, or other natural disasters, talk about your plans in case of the worst: where is the first choice for shelter? What would you do if one or more family members is away someplace?

Even common daily situations demand contingency planning. What if your child loses you at the mall? Do you have a ”safe point” everyone should return to if ever separated? If this is not planned in advance, you will be the panicked parent desperately hoping for a PA announcement. It can all be avoided with a little foresight.

And finally, talk to your kids about 911. Seeing it on TV may be enough training, but parental guidance is better. Help your kids to understand what a great job those operators do, connecting hundreds of desperate people to the hope they need. Teach them never to make joke or prank calls to 911, but not to hesitate to dial if something really bad does happen.

Teach them especially the most basic principle of a 911-call:Stay on the phone until the operator tells you to hang up. After all, the life you save may be your own.

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Fire Marshal Jay Bender said as he visits borough homes he sometimes finds that some people, especially older residents, are not familiar with the 9-1-1 system. He noted that when he asks residents what number they would call in an emergency some head to a closet to look for a faded, old sticker with the phone numbers of the police or fire department. Looking for a phone number instead of just dialing 9-1-1 can waste time during an emergency, said Bender.

“We want to try to get the message out,” he said about using 9-1-1.

When visiting residents’ homes or meeting residents at the senior center Bender said he often gives out new stickers that can be placed directly on the phone to remind callers to use 9-1-1. The stickers are also available in Russian and Spanish.

Bender called it a “wonderful system,” but he noted that it needs to be used to get the benefits from it.

Andrew M. Flax, the dispatcher and 9-1-1 coordinator for the Fair Lawn Police Department, said the police department currently utilizes two Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) terminals that are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by trained Public Safety Telecommunicators.

When a 9-1-1 call is placed by a landline telephone the computer displays the name, address, floor and telephone number. When a 9-1-1 call is placed by a cellular device the computer displays the cellular number as well as the cellular tower the call is being forwarded by.

“This assists in determining the caller’s current location,” said Flax.

Bender agreed that this is the main benefit of callers using the 9-1-1 system because the call can be tracked.

“We can get the address,” he said.

Flax cautioned that while some phones have the option to turn the location services on or off residents should keep it on at all times.

“Having this feature on at all times is an extreme help as it allows the department’s computer systems to track the current coordinates within less than 100 feet,” he said. “If you do not know where you are or something happens while calling we are able to continue to track your movement through the cellular towers and your cellular device resulting in locating you and/or your emergency the quickest way possible.”

Flax said there are times when the department receives calls on the regular police number, but also gets non-emergency calls on the 9-1-1 system.

“The public calls the police when they don’t know what to do,” said Flax. “We are here to protect and serve them and will make sure we assist them with their call to the police whether it be an emergency or not.”

In 2008, the department’s total 9-1-1 calls were 11,045 with an average answer time of 3.63 seconds. One year later there were five additional calls with an average answer time of 3.66 seconds. In 2010, there were 13,018 calls with an average answer time of 3.98 seconds.

Bender said the number is easy to remember and applies to the entire United States.

“We have to get the word out,” he said.

He suggested one way to get the message out is to encourage younger residents to talk to their parents and grandparents to make sure they are aware of the 9-1-1 system.

“The public should first remember 9-1-1 is for reporting emergencies only,” added Flax. “Non-life-threatening calls should be placed on the 10-digit department line 201-796-1400.”

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City of Muskogee Emergency Management Director Jimmy Moore said a citywide drill, which began at about 10 a.m., simulated a hostage situation and shooting at Muskogee Civic Center. Moore said the situation involved a barricaded suspect taking hostages at the Civic Center.

Participants included Muskogee Police Department, Muskogee Fire Department, City of Muskogee Emergency Management, Muskogee Civic Center, Muskogee County Emergency Medical Service, Muskogee Community Hospital, Muskogee Regional Medical Center, Wagoner Emergency Medical Service and Muskogee County Health Department.

Indian Capital Technology Center nursing students, bearing simulated wounds, portrayed casualties

“We wanted to make sure we can communicate through the new E911 system and we wanted to see how many people it would take to stress the hospitals,” Moore said.

The countywide E911 system, which went into operation last summer, brought the county’s various law enforcement, fire and emergency medical systems under one radio system and one building.

“We did not have to have multiple radios” during the drill, Moore said. “We could just switch to police, then emergency management, then EMS.”

The drill also helped show Civic Center employees what to do in an emergency, Moore said.

“I learned not to panic and how to run and get help,” said Civic Center manager Cassandra Gaines. “Three of my employees were shot and taken hostage.”

Gaines said she called 911 when she saw people with guns running through the Civic Center’s front door.

“I called them and said it was just a drill,” Gaines said.

That sent a Muskogee Police Department Special Operations Team storming into the Civic Center.

Shortly after 10 a.m., a busload of casualties arrived at MRMC’s emergency room. Nurses and other workers scrambled to get them in and treated. The “victims” had varying types of injuries — gunshot wounds, shrapnel in legs and chests, facial cuts.

Two were “dead” on arrival, said MRMC safety officer Kyle Kuhns. “Then we had five in stable condition, four in guarded condition, four in critical condition.”

Another hovered between critical condition and death, Kuhns said.

“Our priority was treating not just a number of patients, but different acuity of patients,” Kuhns said, referring to a patient’s level of illness or injury. “We had to treat a number of patients in critical condition.”

Kuhns said the drill involved the entire hospital staff.

“Our own success depended on the staff responding appropriately,” Kuhns said.

Read the story here.

This message is so important that the Texas Legislature enacted a new law to encourage young people to ask for help when needed. The 911 Lifeline Legislation, sponsored by Senator Kirk Watson, provides limited immunity to a person under 21 who calls for help because someone may have alcohol poisoning.

Senate Bill 1331 says that in the event of possible alcohol poisoning, a person under 21 calling for help will not be cited for possessing or consuming alcohol. The immunity for minors is limited to the first person who calls for help, only if he or she stays on the scene and cooperates with law enforcement and medical personnel. The new law does not protect a person from being cited for any other violation.

TABC Administrator Alan Steen said, “The fear of getting in trouble, coupled with a lack of knowledge of the signs of alcohol poisoning, has led to the death of several students in Austin, around Texas, and across the country. We at TABC feel strongly that with enough publicity and education, this law will save lives.”

Carson Starkey died of alcohol poisoning during his first semester of college following a fraternity hazing incident. Within 20 minutes of the time he started drinking, he collapsed and became unresponsive. Ultimately, his blood alcohol content at the time of death was between .39% and .447% — over four times the legal limit for driving in Texas and California.

Despite the fact that Carson had lost consciousness and was showing multiple signs of alcohol poisoning, his fraternity brothers didn’t seek help until it was too late. Based on their actions that night, it was clear the young men hesitated to seek help in part because they were afraid of getting into trouble.

TABC hopes that the 911 Lifeline Legislation and more education about alcohol poisoning will help students in a similar situation to make the right decision to save someone’s life.

Steen says, “Two years ago today, TABC announced the Carson Starkey Medical / Good Samaritan Amnesty policy in an attempt to prevent future deaths from alcohol poisoning. Under this new state law that became effective September 1st, youth who do the right thing are protected, regardless of which law enforcement agency responds to the 911 call.” Steen continued, “I urge young people to be a good friend. Know the signs of alcohol poisoning. Don’t leave an unconscious person alone, and don’t be afraid to call 911.”

The message is simple: If you think they need help, they need help.

Signs of Alcohol Poisoning:

M — Mental Confusion

U — Unresponsive

S — Snoring / Gasping for Air

T — Throwing Up

H — Hypothermia

E — Erratic Breathing

L — Loss of Consciousness

P — Paleness / Blueness of Skin

Don’t wait for all of these symptoms to be present before you seek help!

For more information on the 911 Lifeline Legislation and on alcohol poisoning, please visit TABC’s website and download an informational brochure.

Carson Starkey was born in Austin on April 17, 1990, and he was a third generation graduate of Stephen F. Austin High School in Austin. For more information on Carson’s life, and the non-profit association created in his memory, visit www.awareawakealive.org.

Unfortunately, Carson’s story is not unique. To read about more underage youth who have died from alcohol-related emergencies, or for more information about alcohol poisoning, binge drinking, hazing and medical amnesty, visit the website for The Gordie Center for Alcohol & Substance Education at the University of Virginia (formerly known as the Gordie Foundation).

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But it wasn’t his first heart attack.

In fact, it wasn’t even a real one. Martin was just pretending.

The 76-year-old volunteered to play a starring role in a staged, mock heart attack at Farm & Fleet. It was an exercise organized by Mercy Hospital and Trauma Center in Janesville, the Janesville Fire Department and the American Heart Association.

The group staged an emergency response to a heart attack, from the initial call to 911 by a Farm & Fleet manager to paramedics testing and transporting Martin to Mercy Hospital to cardiac technicians receiving and treating Martin for a major heart artery blockage.

The purpose of the exercise was to increase public awareness about what to do when you think you’re having a heart attack.

Their message was simple: Don’t drive yourself to the hospital. Instead, call 911.

The groups say it’s faster and safer, and trained paramedics have equipment that can be used to check your heart on the spot—sending details of your condition to the hospital before you arrive there.

That means heart specialists will be ready and waiting for you, saving precious time if you have a life-threatening heart blockage as Martin did earlier this year.

Besides the simulated one Wednesday, Martin has had two heart attacks—including a major one Sept. 16.

Martin in September had what is known as an ST-elevation myocardial infarction, or a STEMI heart attack. It’s a serious type of heart attack caused by a sudden, total blockage of the coronary or artery. Martin’s coronary was 100 percent blocked.

Martin was in his living room when he felt some chest discomfort. It got worse fast.

“He went white as a sheet,” said Martin’s spouse, Shirley Martin. “I knew then he was in fright.”

Shirley Martin called 911 right away. Within minutes, paramedics from the Janesville Fire Department arrived at the Martins’ home on Nicolet Street, which is just blocks from a fire station.

Paramedics hooked up Martin to a 12-lead defibrillator, a device that can take heart readings on the spot and send them electronically to a local hospital.

By the time paramedics transported Martin to Mercy Hospital, the hospital’s cardiac cath lab team—a crew of physicians who specialize in STEMI heart attacks—already had details on Martin’s condition and were assembled and ready to treat him.

“The paramedics saved my life,” said Martin. “They made it from my house to the ER in four minutes.”

According to the Society of Chest Pain Centers, 85 percent of heart damage occurs within the first two hours of a heart attack.

Heidi Rye, a nurse and cardiology coordinator at Mercy Hospital, said calling 911 can save 20 minutes compared to a person driving himself to the hospital because paramedics do necessary testing ahead of time and doctors are ready.

Those minutes are crucial.

“For every minute that passes, the heart muscle is getting less oxygen and is causing more damage to that person,” Rye said. “The more minutes we can save, we’re preserving that heart muscle, and that’s crucial.”

Janesville Fire Department Shift Cmdr. Scott Morovits, who was monitoring the mock heart attack Wednesday, said calling 911 allows emergency responders and dispatchers to gather details as crews are responding, such as whether you have a history of heart attacks.

Morovits said it can be a bad idea to try to drive yourself to a hospital during a heart episode because you can lose consciousness while driving, potentially injuring yourself or others.

SAVING TIME

Officials at Mercy Hospital and Trauma Center say calling 911 at the first signs of a heart attack can save 20 minutes from the time between the onset of symptoms to diagnosis and treatment.

That’s because paramedics can test your heart on the spot and send results electronically to the hospital, allowing heart specialists to treat the patient faster.

Still, Mercy reports 50 percent of patients with major artery-blockage heart attacks come to the hospital as walk-in patients. That means they’re transporting themselves instead of calling 911.

It’s a slower process when each minute counts, hospital officials say. The hospital estimates a patient with a major artery-blockage heart attack who is brought in by 911 responders has an average 52-minute wait between admission and treatment. If the patient drives himself, the same process takes about 72.5 minutes.

Read the story here.

We have all seen these drivers. They pass on corners or double-yellow lines. They repeatedly weave across the roads. They travel at erratic speeds, both slow and fast. Most people could add several more items to the list of dangerous behaviors they’ve seen exhibited by drivers under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.

Years ago, it took luck and an extraordinary effort to do anything immediate about such drivers, and many people would shrug off the dangerous behavior anyway. Today, we know better, and we can do something about it with a quick call to 911. Law enforcement officers have a decent chance of catching the offenders quickly and getting them off the street before they hurt others.

The Alaska Highway Safety Office adds a few important cautionary notes to its REDDI recommendation, which can be found along with other information online at www.dot.state.ak.us/stwdplng/hwysafety/index.shtml.

First, people who see dangerous drivers should not call while driving themselves. They should stop first or have a passenger make the call to 911.

Second, they should count to 10 before calling. Don’t call to report someone who just rolled a little too quickly past a stop sign at a lightly traveled intersection. “Call 911 when you believe there is a risk of death or injury due to dangerous driver behavior,” the office recommends. “Do not call 911 for minor behaviors that do not appear to cause confusion or risk of death or injury.”

This week, the state safety office is highlighting the dangers of drunken driving. They’re reminding people attending holiday events to plan safe ways to get home. That can mean designating a sober driver, leaving car keys at home, using a bus or calling a taxi or a friend for a ride.

The office also reminds people they don’t have to just shrug it off when they see people who haven’t followed any of the above advice. They can call 911 and perhaps save a life or two.

Read the story here.