OK, so you THINK that people know if they dial 911 we will come and make sense out of whatever screw up they have gotten themselves into...What if they can't figure out how to dial 9-1-1?

The other night we were dispatched to a home for a medical call with ALS. As they are doing their thing the guy in the home asks me if the city has 911. Of course I replied that's who sent us. "It doesn't work on my cell phone" he tells me. Now it's 0300 and I'm pretty gullible anyway so I foolishly ask to borrow his cell phone. He's visiting from Rochester, NY and is sure that he dialed it several times and it doesn't ring here.

I dial and after a few seconds the call goes through. I spell it out to the dispatcher and he says don't call us we'll call you. Great. The dispatcher said that he had four hang ups in a row and had the cops every where looking for these people that kept calling and not talking. It turns out that the guy had no patience and didn't wait for the call to connect.

Now for the best part. He drove five blocks to the firehouse and pounded on the door and said that no one would come and help him. (ATTENTION use the big red box marked EMERGENCY PHONE next to the door and speak to a fireman). What the heck, are we supposed to sleep in the apparatus bay now? Anyway he drives two more blocks to the hospital ER and the receptionist helps him call 911. Then he goes home and just beats us back to his house. We asked him why he didn't take his mom to the hospital with him. The Rocket Scientist tells me that he didn't want her to have to get dressed up for a ride in the car. We can take her in her robe and cover her with a blanket. Another chapter in my sleep deprived life.