Early morning call

It has been a busy Saturday evening in dispatch.

The unusually warm clear day has brought more people out to gather and enjoy their time. Unfortunately, with this there are more emergencies involving those that may have enjoyed too much recreational drugs or alcohol. The last seven hours have been eventfully for both the evening and midnight shift, to state lightly for all responders. Dispatch has already had calls of two lost children, four motor vehicle accidents with injuries, one needing a helicopter, a barn fire, five misdials, six prank calls, four domestic altercations, 22 medical calls ranging from difficulty breathing to possible alcohol poisoning. Not to mention 30 traffic stops and 15 calls of questions regarding things from quiet time at parks to how to find out why someone was arrested.

It is now 3:03 in the morning as Lizzie and Zach have had a chance to catch up on any paperwork, and take a breath as the phone rings…

Lizzie: “9-1-1, where is your emergency?”

Caller: “I don’t know, where is it?”

Lizzie: “This is 9-1-1 emergency do you have an emergency?”

Caller: “I don’t know, do I?”

At this point Lizzie can tell that the male caller is not cooperating but not sure why? His voice is not clear, and his speech is slow. There is no background noise of any kind. The caller was using a landline phone allowing his phone number and address to show on the screen.

Lizzie: “Do you have an emergency?”

Caller: “Umm, yeah.”

Lizzie: “What is your name?”

Caller: “That is it.”

Lizzie: “Are you safe? Do you need police?”

Caller: “Do I?”

Lizzie: “Do you need an ambulance?”

The answer to this question was just some more slurring and rambling of words unable to understand.

At this point Lizzie has already determined that this is not a prank call, but the caller needs assistance. With the unknown factors, Zach goes ahead and dispatches law enforcement and EMS. Lizzie continues to talk to the caller while checking for any call history for the address, none is shown.

Lizzie: “Sir, we have help on the way. Can you tell me what is happening?”

Caller: “Yeah, that.”

Lizzie: “Are you having any pain? Is there anyone there with you?

Lizzie continues to stay on the phone with the caller trying to get them to answer any further questions or hear any other clues. There were no more answers or intelligible speech. It sounds as if the phone has dropped to the floor. Lizzie can hear laughing and then he tries to say something. She attempts to get his attention and back to the phone, with no success.

Zach is keeping the responding agencies updated. Once law enforcement was in the area, they reported having trouble locating the address due to many houses in the same area with no markings. This house sat on a long driveway with many houses, all the mailboxes were at the end of the driveway next to the main road. Zach was able to give directions according to the map, however in the dark hours of the morning it is hard to see all the possibilities. EMS also in the area unable to locate the address. Not being able to determine the correct house or driveway that branches off, the officer used their siren. Lizzie was able to listen through the open line to see if they were getting closer or not. After many minutes it was narrowed down. The officer knocked on the door and Lizzie was able to hear it and confirm it was the correct house.

As it turned out, in this area along with the caller’s house there were many other people that lived off-grid, which shared an easement. There were multiple branches off of the main driveway/easement with homes, some having addresses and others not. This made locating the residence difficult to find as no secondary driveway nor homes was marked with the addresses. Only address placements were those on the mailboxes.

As for the emergency, it was a 54-year-old man who had recently suffered a head injury. Although he and his doctors thought he was in the clear, when he took another fall at home a secondary injury caused issues with his speech and was in serious condition when help arrived. Lizzie did not take this call lightly and just assume it was a prank or someone under the influence. If it had not been for the teamwork between dispatch, EMS and law enforcement, this call would have had a negative outcome. Every day with almost every call there are many aspects of behind the scene interactions and teamwork between all first responders including dispatch and the field responders.

I encourage each of you to look at how your residence is addressed. Is it visible from the roadway? Is your address marked clearly? Can it be seen at all times during the day and night? Is it marked on your mailbox and house? Is it marked on shared driveways at each divided area on that shared driveway or easement?

Will they be able to identify your house if you have fallen in the kitchen while home alone, unable to tell dispatch details regarding your home?

The Texas County Emergency Services office in Houston is funded by a 3/8-cent countywide sales tax approved by voters in 2013. Director Terra Culley can be reached by phone at 417-967-5309 or by email at terraculley911@hotmail.com.

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