Mistaken Alarm

Many times when we get dispatched, it is apparent that the call taker and the dispatcher have no clue as to the real nature of the so-called problem. Sometimes these are defined as a "Mistaken Alarm". This includes the famous car radiator overheat that gets dispatched as a car fire, the occasional steam from a clothes dryer, the ever exciting low cloud / building on fire confusion, and my all time favorite - flames showing with the actual dispatch details explaining that this was reported by a passing motorist with bad eyesight (it was of course...the "Eternal Flame" in front of the sports complex). Often we get dispatched to something like "an unknown problem" which is the technical term for "send the fire department 'cause we have no clue as to what is going on and there might really be an emergency but we not sure but since we cannot get a straight answer from the intoxicated or otherwise impaired caller...We HAVE to do something because the caller sounds really really upset...So there might be a problem that could be fixed by a well-equipment and trained firefighter".

The other night, we went out siren screaming, lights flashing, to a young female who was upset about the love triangle she was in. Well, not really a love triangle...As near as I could calculate, it was more like a love tetrahedron or some other equally confusing geometric shape. I was not inclined at 0315 in the morning to try to sort all that out, but it was apparent that she felt that someone in this relationship(s) did not have her best interest in mind. Somehow that triggered a call to the 911 system which then translated into an "emergency" (see above). When we arrived, she promptly stated that she did not want an ambulance or a firetruck to show up since that was not going to fix her problems. We agreed and once again questioned the decision making algorithm employed by the 911 dispatchers.

So soon after trying to recoup from the confusion of the previous call, we were dispatched to a 92 year old female trying to die peacefully in a nursing home. When we arrived, the on-duty nurse stated that the patient, her daughter, and doctor had done the right thing. They had completed the paperwork that stated she did not want to be put on life support, given CPR, etc. Since the old gal was winding down, the paperwork stated she could only be given "comfort measures" which did not include an IV or medications. The nurse wanted an emergency transport to the ER for the doctor to prescribe "comfort measures". I wanted to say (but restrained myself), I can write you the prescription for an extra blanket and a glass of water. There is nothing that would be done for the lady at the hospital and nothing was going to change the outcome, other than that the old lady would be moved out of her living space surrounded by her friends and thrust into the chaos of the ER to live out the last few hours of her life.