‘A Lower Priority Call’: Burn Victim at Church Fish Fry Near Atlanta Forced to Find His Own Way to Hospital After 911 Never Sent Paramedics

A church fish fry outside Atlanta took an excruciating turn when a member collapsed into a vat of hot grease and suffered severe burns, but despite a 911 call immediately after the accident, emergency services did not arrive for 35 minutes, leading a church deacon to transport the injured man to the hospital himself.

Rufus Benford, Jr., a member of Greater Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in DeKalb County, was severely burned when he passed out next to the cooking station and fell into an active fryer, causing hot grease to splash all over his body.

Pastor Johnny Beasley, Jr. witnessed the calamity and yelled for someone to call DeKalb County 911.

The first emergency call was placed about 5:06 p.m., just moments after the accident, with one church member urging the dispatcher to send help immediately.

“We have a member who had hot grease on him!” the caller stated, according to WSB in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, Benford was aware of his injuries and in danger of going into shock as church members frantically rendered first aid and tried to keep him calm until help arrived.

But the paramedics never showed up.

Nearly 20 minutes passed before congregants grew worried and called 911 again.

“We are still waiting for this ambulance to get here, and it’s taking its time, and he’s getting unresponsive,” the panicked voice shouted to the dispatcher around 5:25 p.m.

Inexplicably, help didn’t arrive.

Parishioners said someone else called 911 from the scene again, pleading for help while Benford lay on the ground for more than 30 minutes with third-degree burns, fading in and out of consciousness.

Pastor Beasley said the concerned members waited an additional 15 minutes before a church deacon took matters into his own hands and drove the injured man to the hospital in his truck.

Church members said they made four 911 calls in total, with the final call being a complaint to the dispatcher after they had already transported the injured man, while the delay in emergency aid had cost crucial time to save his life.

Later, DeKalb Fire Chief Darnell Fullum explained to WSB Channel 2 that the emergency dispatcher classified the emergency as a fainting spell rather than a person with serious burns, “which is a lower priority call.”

“There is a learning opportunity for really everyone,” Fullum said, claiming that the first 911 caller was not clear with the dispatcher about the nature of the man’s injuries. The caller reportedly said Benford was still alert despite being splashed by hot grease, while the victim could also be heard in the background responding to questions about his age and vital signs.

After hearing the official explanation for the delay, Pastor Beasley expressed deeper frustration, saying Benford should have received immediate medical attention despite being awake during the initial call.

“If it wasn’t so serious, we could have taken care of it ourselves,” Beasley said, according to WSB.

However, Fullum explained that the 911 call classification system is essential for a county that handles hundreds of calls each day, as it ensures that the severity of emergencies is accurately conveyed. He noted that clearer information about the severity of the burns would have led to a different response.

Fullum, however, did not explain why the initial 911 call was not superseded by three additional calls about the same emergency.

Benford is still recovering in Grady Hospital.

The county said it plans to reassess its procedures to identify any missed details that could have ensured the call received greater urgency.

DeKalb County 911 faced criticism earlier this year following an investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which found that about half of 911 callers in DeKalb County in 2023 were put on hold, marking the highest hold rate among agencies surveyed in metro Atlanta.

Back in April, DeKalb Commissioners who reviewed the data expressed surprise at the findings, noting that answer times had been reported as improving. Commissioner Ted Terry said he plans to request quarterly updates on the 911 center’s performance and emphasized the need for transparency in addressing these issues.

The same investigation uncovered several other cases where DeKalb’s delayed 911 response had severe outcomes.

In July 2021, Angela Monroe-Wood’s call for help during a shooting in Clarkston was delayed, leading to her neighbor’s death. She believes that a faster response could have saved his life.

Back in March, a Lithonia family had to flag down a FedEx driver for a ride to get help after their house caught fire due to long wait times on 911. Officials attribute these delays to the county’s complex emergency response system.

‘A Lower Priority Call’: Burn Victim at Church Fish Fry Near Atlanta Forced to Find His Own Way to Hospital After 911 Never Sent Paramedics