Man who lost trousers dialled 999

[AdamD]

Unreal.....
Source - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/w...ds/6219265.stm

Man who lost trousers dialled 999



Emergency call handlers were left "in disbelief" when a man dialled 999 because he could not find his trousers.

The man was one of four people who inappropriately rang for an ambulance in the early hours of Saturday, during a busy night for the emergency service.


Another caller rang from Birmingham's Broad Street to say a 32-year-old "couldn't walk from too much dancing".
West Midlands Ambulance bosses said people should consider whether it was appropriate to call 999.
It would have been helpful if these people had first thought about whether dialling 999 was appropriate


Ambulance spokesman




A third caller, this time from the Low Hill area of Wolverhampton, stated another 32-year-old had a finger injury.


The man was "extremely drunk" and it transpired the injury had been sustained two days earlier, said the ambulance service.


And the final call was from an 18-year-old man who had a toothache.
An ambulance service spokesman said: "At one of the busiest times of year it would have been helpful if these people had first thought about whether dialling 999 was appropriate.

"In the last of these cases medical help was required but not from the ambulance service."

[Tinky]

They were right about one thing, they all need their heads examined!

[lauzjp]

can people be fined for such stupidness?

I know that if a housefire turns out to be your fault then you get billed... a guy across the road from me found that out a year or so ago!

[fireman328]

Originally Posted by lauzjp

can people be fined for such stupidness?

I know that if a housefire turns out to be your fault then you get billed... a guy across the road from me found that out a year or so ago!

There is NO charge for fire service attendance to any call of fire or other related incidents. If however the call is to a chimney fire the local environmental health may impose a fixed penalty for allowing pollution to be discharged. This has nothing to do with the fire service.
The fire service operate within the principles of ;
The saving of life from fire.
The saving of property from fire
Rendering humanitarian services (attendance at chemical spills, RTC's train crashes etc.)
If however you want your swimming pool filled this is chargeable and at the discretion of the officer in charge to ensure operational commitments can still be maintained.

[lauzjp]

wow, really? lol. maybe he's just an attention seeking liar then. sorry. consider my wrists slapped.

Originally Posted by fireman328

If however you want your swimming pool filled this is chargeable and at the discretion of the officer in charge to ensure operational commitments can still be maintained.

I had no idea the fire brigade filled swimming pools . I do hope they charge a good price for that service

[Hugh]

Originally Posted by Bill C

I had no idea the fire brigade filled swimming pools . I do hope they charge a good price for that service

Depends what they fill them with - could you imagine it after a watch night out?

[Orior]

Is it time to start charging for 999 calls?

[Vlad_Dracul]

Originally Posted by Orior

Is it time to start charging for 999 calls?

It may be time to start charging for some of them where the money can be recouped via an insurance policy.

There is widespread abuse of emergency services in this country. A lot of it is becuase people are feckless and stupid and some more of it is becuase the emergency service is used becuase another service fails to respond or the potential user doesnt want to pay.

For example, I have knowledge and experience of the national gas emergency service. It runs 24/7 365 days a year and is for gas emergencies i,e those circumstances whereby life and porperty could be or is at risk due to the escape of or improper combustion of natural gas as supplied via the national transmission and distribution system. It is a safety critical operation and those who operate within it often have many years of experience and sometimes find themselves in perilous situations and do sometimes save lives and yet in the public eye,they are not really seen as an emergency service.

Common abuse scenarios are;

(1) traffic warden tickets a vehicle engaged in an emergency response or has one clamped or towed away !!

(2)member of public reports that they have a gas leak but really they have a faulty central heating boiler/faulty cooker etc and they dont want to pay to have it fixed

(3) member of public reports emergency as in (2) becuase the council or their landlord or anyone else wont come out to fix it becusse its weekend or christmas or whatever.

(4)they report a gas emergency becuase they have a card meter,the gas has run out and they dont get their benefits until next tuesday

(5) member of public reports fake emergency becuase they are really a gang of yobbos and they want to attack and rob the engineer when he turns up

(6) member of public reports fake emergency becuase they are mentally unbalanced and/or lonely and they want some company. Unfortunately their brain is stuck in gear so they repeat the same thing every week,usually at 2am in the morning..

I could go on....

[Halcyon]

I think for every nuissance call, the caller should be made to make a donation to the emergency services.

[chocky909]

Originally Posted by Halcyon

I think for every nuissance call, the caller should be made to make a donation to the emergency services.

When you're made to 'donate' it's called a fine.

[Halcyon]

Oh yeah, oops.

A fine would probably definately make people think again next time they want to call.

[Orior]

News Flash.

All the the toilet seats in a Manchester police station have been stolen. The police have nothing to go on.

Also, in an unrelated incident, two lorries carrying loads of horse hair were stolen outside Glasgow. While making their escape, the two lorries crashed into each other shedding their load all over the place. The police are combing the area for clues.