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Responders say trucks on time
Dec 31, 2008 (Kilgore News Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Though it must have seemed like 45 minutes until firemen arrived, a review of 911 calls regarding a fire outside Kilgore city limits reveals the response time was one-third of that time.
Sheriff Maxey Cerliano said he has reviewed his 911 call records out of concern that emergency calls may have been improperly handled from the J.D. Edney residence on the morning of Jan. 21, when fire destroyed the family's home on FM 2204.
His conclusion: Nobody dropped the ball and firemen were dispatched and arrived in a reasonable time considering the time of the emergency and the distance to the rural home.
The sheriff said his office received six calls between 3:59 a.m. and 4:14 a.m. and, though some calls were apparently lost or "dropped," the first call was received in the Gregg County dispatch center and properly transferred to the Kilgore police and fire dispatch office. KFD arrived on the scene at 4:14 a.m.
"If you live out in the county, 911 calls that do not involve law enforcement and are for fire or ambulance are directed to a public safety answering point (PSAP)," Sheriff Cerliano said. "In Gregg, calls will go to Gregg County Sheriff 's Office dispatch center and the dispatcher will evaluate the information and direct the call to the appropriate responder." If the call involves a law enforcement matter, the GCSO dispatches one of its own deputies.
The transfer is made by the push of a button and not by manual dialing of a telephone, he explained.
"If you live in Elderville/Lakeport, that call would be forwarded to the Longview Fire Department dispatch center. If you live in Liberty City/Sabine, for fire we would dispatch to Kilgore; for EMS, the call is forwarded directly to Champion EMS," the sheriff said. In the Edney case, they live on the edge of the Elderville/Lakeport "run zone," which abuts the Kilgore run zone, or area of coverage.
In reviewing the 911 records and tapes, Sheriff Cerliano said calls from the Edney family came in a 3:59, 4:01, 4:02, 4:03, 4:10 and 4:14 a.m., at which time the caller stated a fire truck was arriving. All of the calls were transferred to the Kilgore dispatch center, with the exception of the last, which was transferred to the Longview dispatch center, which takes calls for the Elderville/Lakeport Volunteer Fire Department.
Between the Edney calls, dispatchers also talked with each other by telephone and determined the Edney home was actually in the Elderville/Lakeport run zone. Between the first call and the last, Kilgore dispatch also notified the Elderville/ Lakeport VFD by telephone. The GCSO dispatch center likewise transferred the last call to the Longview dispatch center, which transferred that call to Elderville/Lakeport.
"Kilgore immediately dispatched their fire and their fire responded, even though it was just outside their run zone," the sheriff said.
The first call was logged into the GCSO dispatch center at 3:59:53 and at the Kilgore dispatch center at 4:02 a.m. Part of the time difference is taken up by listening to the caller and determining the nature of the call and the proper dispatch center. Additional time between the two calls is the difference between the "official" clock times noted on the computer servers that document the calls at each dispatch center.
"The times on our server and Kilgore's time on their server can be different," Sheriff Cerliano said. But everything is digitally recorded and the sheriff said he has reviewed all of the recorded tapes of the three centers involved.
He said he has discussed the 15-minute response time with the county's fire marshal, David Kidder, and that is an acceptable time for response considering the call came in at 4 a.m. and the family lives out in the county.
"Nobody dropped the ball," Cerliano said. "That's good time when you consider the firemen must get up, get dressed, get the truck cranked up and go."
The sheriff said he doesn't know why some of the Edneys' calls were "dropped," but he is 100 percent sure the first call was received and properly dispatched.
"Worst-case scenario, it took 15 minutes for KFD to get to the home. From the time Longview dispatched to Elderville/ Lakeport, it was 17 minutes," he said.
Sheriff Cerliano said he is sympathetic to the Edney family, whom he knows suffered a great loss. J.D. and Chancelee Edney and their two young sons were not injured, but their 15-year-old, deaf Labrador retriever, who was sleeping inside the home, did not hear the commotion and get out in time. The frame home was a complete loss.
Hours after the fire, Edney told the News Herald the fire apparently began in a shed behind their home and spread to the house, likely due to high winds. He said last week when he first called 911, the fire was contained to the shed. He was concerned, he said, "because it was kind of like they (dispatchers) didn't know where to dispatch us to Elderville or Kilgore."
FM 2204 is also known as Stone Road until it passes out of the city limits. The Edneys say they live just past Greenwood Farm.
This morning, Edney said he appreciated the sheriff 's review of the calls because he wants to ensure residents receive fast service when they call in emergencies.
"The main thing, if there was a problem, is I wanted the next person to get fast service," Edney said. "That's the first time I've ever called 911."
The family had homeowner insurance and the carrier has been notified.
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http://www.kilgorenewsherald.com/. Copyright (c) 2008, Kilgore News Herald,
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