La Broquerie’s fire chief is urging us to verify information when calling 9-1-1 regarding emergencies that we did not witness.

Al Nadeau says there are too many times where emergency responders are dispatched to scenes that do not require their support.

“Sometimes, we’re calling 9-1-1 for almost no reason,” he says. “It’s dangerous to get everybody rolling to a scene where they think it’s a real emergency scene and if it really is not, you’re entailing ambulance, you’re entailing a whole bunch of fire fighters and police to rush to a scene. And if it’s not necessary, my gosh, let’s not do this.”

The more information the caller can provide 9-1-1 dispatcher, the more effective the response can be in determining which emergency responders to send and how many crews might be needed.

Nadeau gives some examples of calls that really should not have happened.

“Steam coming out of a barn with yellow yard lights, and it looks like a fire, but maybe we should check closer,” Nadeau says. “Also, the car that hit the ditch is just waiting for a tow truck, let’s not call 9-1-1 without checking why we’re calling.”

police car, multiple fire trucks and two ambulances have attended a scene where a tow truck was all that was needed.

We want to be clear, we're not asking folks to do our job. We don't need folks to investigate how the collision may have come to be, but we would request that a caller verify some information for 911 when calling.

If you didn't witness the accident yourself, stopping and asking if everyone is alright is a good start. From there, you may find there is no need to call 911 in the first place.

Steam escaping buildings during cold winter days, it can look like smoke. (Photo Credit: Facebook/Springfield Police Department

Finally, this morning, there were multiple 911 calls regarding a truck which had rolled in the ditch on the Perimeter Highway. The initial collision occurred in the early morning hours and emergency services attended at the time. The truck was taped and marked for towing when one was available. Imagine our surprise to receive more 'Drive By 911 Calls' as the morning went on to report the same motor vehicle collision. Had the callers stopped, they would have observed an empty vehicle, covered in police tape, with evidence of extraction and emergency service attendance already, hours earlier. We don't have a choice about responding to 911 calls, so resources rolled again for what we were pretty sure was the same collision.

In each example, the caller did not stop to verify if the information they gave dispatch was true. For the first example, the caller told us a collision had occurred. But they hadn't witnessed one. They told us someone was slumped over in their seat, which triggered an escalated medical response, which was not the case. They didn't speak to either driver, who were both patiently waiting for a tug out of the snow. They just kept driving and called 911.

In summary, please stop and check. If only to give us better information to roll the right resources quickly. We aren't asking the public to be the Hardy Boys, but stopping to check on your fellow citizens at least to find out if they are alright is a good start.

Finally, if you see police or fire tape on a vehicle, it means we have been there already and the vehicle is awaiting whatever next steps are necessary - usually a tow. No need to call 911 for a vehicle that has been taped.

See you on the roads!”