so frustrating (OT)

I love my job, I really do, but sometimes you feel so helpless.. I took a call from an elderly couple who had an accident into a tree,they were trapped in the vehicle, both were injured and they had no clue what road they were on, plus they were up in the sticks, so there were no landmarks either...there had been a car behind them, but they left without checking on the people!! Somehow State Police got the call, and arrived about 4 minutes into trying to figure out exactly where they were... I jus thope they end up O.K. (they were at the county line,but in the next county so we most likely won't hear what happens with them)

Brianna - Boy, as if it were deja vu, we had something very similar only worse about a month ago. It was a female who was with her disabled vehicle out in the boone toolies. She knew what road she was on, but not quite sure how far out. Well, some guy stopped by to help her out and gave her a ride. Only that ride turned out where she was thrown in the trunk and hauled off onto a side road. This is rural Central Oregon. It was pretty damned cold and she was trying to call from her cell phone. 911 was got the tower she was transmitting off of but we were having a hell of a time locating her. I don't even know now if we did. I know they called out extra patrols to search by the time I got off duty. We did find her car though, so that gave a little frame of reference. Now that you jogged my memory, I'm going to have to call to find out what the outcome of that was. We get those crazy cell calls all the time, unfortunately. And narrowing down where a person is when you don't have GPS attached to the cell tower and signal is just a nightmare. Let us know if you get a status update on those folks... Dina

Dina, what a scary story!!! If I ever broke down, espeically in the boonies, I kno wbetter then to hitch a ride with a stranger... if you find out what happened to her, let me know. I talked to one of the medics dispatched up there, he said both were flown to the hospital.. he needed to fly, and they had room for her too, so they took both. I believe they are going to be O.K. I can't wait for this county to get with times and get us GPS,(we are still waiting for CAD) it comes standard in some cars, and 911 centers don't have it.. that is messed up Brianna

Oh I know how you feel about wanting to get basic equipment. We do have CAD which I don't know if I could live without, but we do not have any form of caller ID at all. We are a secondary PSAP so we don't answer the 911 lines....they get transferred to us. So being a state agency they route all our phones through Salem and that means they cannot quite figure out how to do the caller ID thing for us. I have caller ID on my CELL PHONE yet we cannot get it at work. Just ridiculous! As for the gal in our case, I haven't been back to work yet as I was laid low by the galloping crud this week, but I'll try to remember to ask when I get back to work on Sunday. Dina

I know what you are feeling. There are no words to describe that helpless feeling we all get when we know we've got to help someone but can't get what we need to get the help there, or to get them there quick. I guess that is what really makes good dispatchers. I know that if I ever get to the point that something doesn't bother me, or I don't feel something for a situation that seems desperate, then I need to quit my job. You deserve praise for your passion & compassion! Sherri