Emergency Response Time

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I was in a severe car accident in the summer of 2008. I was plowed into the side by a tow truck around 10PM. I spun around 180 degrees, flattened a stop sign, and caused damage into a powerpole that my Jeep made it's final crash and stopped. A neighbor called 911. She was at my side within a minute. Most of the windows were broken. The lady called my home to tell my family. Just in those few minutes, the firefighters arrived and used the "Jaws of Life". After 30 minutes cutting through the sunroof, and pulling my body out of the crushed vehical with my body twisted like a pretzle, I was finally free! I was put in a neck brace and streatcher. They carried me to the nearby ambulance that arrived within about 10-15 minutes 911 was called. I was sent to the Trauma Center Hospital Emergcy Room. A deep gash on top of my head from a broken window, glass got imbeded into my scalp when my head hit the door window area. The gash needed staples to keep the cut together. Stitches wouldn't be strong enough fo how bad the cut was. X-Rays showed several hairline fractures throughoutn my body. My extra padding helped cushion my bones. Was told if I was thin, I would have had bad broken bones.
I live in Seattle, Washington USA. We have been proud of our response times during the past 20+ years. The response times have improved since the early 1980s! It is nice to be able to dial 911 and all the help you need will come as soon as they can!
 
Do most of y'all live in big cities? If so, what's the response time there? :)
 
That's pretty cool that all around the US and Canada firemen are first responders :nod: It's nice to be able to have help like that soon, even if the ambulance takes longer.

I did find out that even though the accident was in OK and the OK Highway Patrol invetigated the accident, the Arkansas city firemen and police came, too.
 
Well I know whenever the fire alarm goes off at my job it seriously takes them like 10/15 minutes to get there, which is sad, cause of the fire departments is like a minute down the road.
 
Unfortunately I got a lot of experience calling emergency services during my parents' final illnesses so I know how fast first responders can get here.

The folks at the local fire house were really great. They came over several times to help pick my stepdad up when he fell, and they said they would come whenever we needed. There isn't thanks enough for that sort of goodness.
 
Well, when I needed an ambulance in August the firemen were there first because they're first responders (no accident, I just hurt myself at home and needed to go to the hospital). They were there in 5 minutes... the paramedics took 30 minutes because I wasn't a priority.

An accident like that here would probably have firemen there within seconds, ambulance and police would follow. When I witnessed a car accident and called it in, the firemen were there within seconds, then the ambulance and then the police came to block off streets.
 
I hope that the people from that car accident will be okay. That must have been a very distressing thing for you to have to see. :hug:


I live outside of town (or, as we say here, "in the county") but only about a mile outside. Even so, emergency police service has to come from the county rather than the town and that can mean waiting longer for a sherriff's deputy--the county seat is 25 miles away but there's a small outpost station in town. Ambulances also take about 10 to 20 minutes to come from the center of town.

The good side of things is that my house is only a mile from the local volunteer fire station, so they arrive in only about 3 minutes.

I love living in a more rural area near a small town but it is worrying when you know emergency service can take awhile.
 
On my way to work this morning, I saw the tail end of a four car pile up on the bridge crossing into Arkansas. Because the accident actually happened in Oklahoma, my 911 call went to OK.

It would be 20 minutes before the state troopers could get there. But if the accident had happened just a few hundred yards east, in Arkansas domain, the city fire department first responders would have been there in mere minutes. :eek:

What is the typical response time for emergencies in your area?

I learned in the Citizen's Fire Department class I took that in the city that I work in, response time is 3 minutes or less. We have fire departments scattered across the city. The firemen not only fight fires, but they are also trained first responders for medical emergencies.

However, in rural Oklahoma, just across the river, where I live, we don't have fire departments. There are some fire stations, but volunteers are called by the 911 dispatch. It takes at minimum thirty minutes. As far as medical emergencies, we only have one ambulance service in the whole county.
 
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