Why We Need Cellular ALI II
by Vereda Koch
| Vereda Koch is the 9-1-1 Coordinator/Public Education Director for the Nortex 9-1-1 Communications District in Wichita Falls, Texas. |
This sidebar can be found on
page 66 of the May/June 1998
issue of 9-1-1 Magazine.
Dispatcher In Wichita Falls, Wichita County, Tx: 9-1-1 What is
your emergency?
Caller: I think I'm having a heart attack.
Dispatcher: Let me put you through to the ambulance. Do not hang
up. Where are you at, sir?
Caller: I'm in a truck.
Dispatcher: Where at in the truck?
Caller: In Vernon.
Dispatcher: I'm going to put you through to the appropriate agency.
Do not hang up. Are you inside the city limits of Vernon, sir?
Caller: No.
Dispatcher: Where were you traveling from?
Caller: I'm out past G. Wolf. They're loading hay in my truck and
they can't hear me.
Dispatcher: Okay. I'm going to get you some help. Do not hang up.
The caller, Tim Reeves, of Decatur, Texas, buys and sells hay to ranches throughout the region. When Tim left his home in Decatur, Texas, some 100 miles southeast of Wichita Falls, he wasn't feeling well and by the time he reached Wichita Falls, he said he was really feeling bad. He continued on to Vernon, about 50 miles west, where he was to pick up a load of hay. He backed his trailer into the barn and left the cab outside, not knowing this single act could be the one thing which would possibly save his life.
Tim said, "The only thing I knew about the man I was picking up the hay from was his name was Robert." He also didn't know the name of the road he was on or the location. "I've hauled all over these states and I have always used landmarks to get around," Tim said. "You know, turn right at the last gas station, go to the dead tree and turn right, go to the dirt road turn left and it's the barn on the left."
Tim said, "I was really sleepy and decided to lay down in the sleeper while the men loaded the trailer. The longer I laid there the worse I got to feeling and I knew I needed help. With the pain I was having, I tried beating on the cab and yelling, but the men outside couldn't hear me for the tractors loading the hay. I knew I needed help, so I dialed 9-1-1."
When the call came in, Wichita Falls Police dispatcher Tammie Johnson knew she had to transfer the call to the Vernon PSAP in Wilbarger County. Tim had placed his 9-1-1 call in Wilbarger County, but the call hit the nearest available cellular tower, which was in Wichita County, three counties away.
Immediately upon transfer, Tammie and Vernon dispatcher Julie Watts started talking to Tim, trying to find out where he was. There was a point in the 9-1-1 call when all hope was lost. Both Tammie and Julie couldn't get a response from Tim. They continued to call for him to answer and after what seemed to be several minutes they did get a response.
He told them, "it hurts bad, I can't turn over." Each dispatcher knew they desperately needed to keep him talking. They kept asking him questions, "can you reach the horn, are you concentrating on your breathing," reminding him to breathe in through his nose and out through his mouth, while continuing to understand where he was located. Again the questions, "how many people are out there with you, will the ambulance be able to see you from the road", and reassuring him that help was on the way. Both dispatchers knew they needed to do everything within their immediate power to get help. Tammie would talk to him while Julie would give directions to the ambulance and fire departments, relaying what information they could get.
After what seemed to be an eternity, the Vernon Fire Department found Tim and transported him to the Wilbarger County Hospital. In the hospital it was found that blood clots had formed in the main artery in Tim's leg and had traveled to his lung. The doctors told him if he had continued to sleep he wouldn't be here to tell his story.
Three days later he was transported to his home town hospital much improved. "If it weren't for the dispatchers I wouldn't be alive," Tim said. "They deserve all the recognition they get."
Using a cellular telephone Tim Reeves called 9-1-1 for help. He didn't realize that he needed to know his exact location. Thanks to all the 9-1-1 response teams, Vernon Fire Department, Sheriff's Department, the Texas Department of Highway Patrol and the EMS, Tim Reeves received help quickly.
But the call might not have turned out so favorably. With wireless 9-1-1 location, Tim's uncertain location would have been pinpointed and help would have been directed immediately to where dispatchers knew he was.
