Yes, we are all about our new Station One on Taft Highway and are glad to serve as a voting site and host the local high school prom, but we are still an emergency service. We are also still running and receiving all manner of calls. Here is the rundown of the type of calls we have run recently:
May 03 - We get a call for chest pains on Suck Creek Road. Yes, Suck Creek Road and all the area along the river is our primary response district. As this is not part of any incorporated city, we are the closest county agency and cover all this area.
May 04 - We receive a call about a general alarm on Key-Hulse Road. The Signal Mountain Christian School had a general alarm go out to the 911 Center. In these cases, we always have to respond until we find out exactly what the emergency might be. It could be a carbon monoxide alarm, a fire or anything else that would set off an emergency alarm. We receive many emergency calls to unattended buildings with alarm systems, and we immediately respond to all of them while the 911 Center tries to contact a person named on the alarm contract. Sometimes we are cancelled en route, and other times no reporting party can be contacted, and we have to arrive on site ready to handle anything we encounter.
May 04 - Later that same day, we get a call about wires down on East Brow Road, which means there is a hot electric wire on or near the ground. Apparently, a wire was hanging low and the reporting party stated he saw a bus hit the wire and the wire hit the road. Aside from the obvious danger to anyone walking or driving on the road, many times we have seen a hot wire start a fire. We have to respond to secure the area but also have an engine and firefighters ready in the event that the grass or a tree of a fence catches fire because of the downed wire.
May 04 - Later that same day, we get a report of a tree blocking a road. On Ivory Avenue, a person reports seeing a tree fall and states that it is blocking the entire road. Yes, this is an emergency that we also take seriously. Keeping the roads open for emergency services is very much a priority for our district. Mostly due to the medical emergencies we encounter, we need to keep the roads open for any ambulance traffic that may be required in our district. Since medical calls tend to be about one half of the calls we receive, getting a truck and a crew and a chainsaw to the scene to clear the road are part of our job as emergency responders.
May 05 - At 8 a.m. we get a call about a medical emergency on East Brow Road. In the case of serious medical calls, we are notified the same time as the Hamilton County ambulance service. Typically, we are able to arrive first, as we are in the immediate area, and can provide immediate basic life support. When an ambulance arrives, we can then notify EMS personnel of the signs and symptoms and assist with the patient and getting him or her into the ambulance for transport.
The above calls are just a few of the many calls we get every month. Now, don’t get the impression that we run this many calls in a short period of days. Our role as emergency service providers is not this predictable. While we do average over 300 calls a year, the calls tend to come at us at different times on different days. Mostly feast or famine, we typically get a lot of calls in a few days and then go for quite a few days without any calls. We just never know, but we are always ready for whatever comes our way because that is just what we do.
As always, if you have questions or comments, or would like to become a member of WRES, we encourage you to contact us at any time. Call us at (423) 886-5974 and leave a message or send us a message on our Facebook page and we will get back to you. However, if you have an emergency or even think you may need some assistance, always call 911 for immediate assistance.
by Jay Heavilon
May 03 - We get a call for chest pains on Suck Creek Road. Yes, Suck Creek Road and all the area along the river is our primary response district. As this is not part of any incorporated city, we are the closest county agency and cover all this area.
May 04 - We receive a call about a general alarm on Key-Hulse Road. The Signal Mountain Christian School had a general alarm go out to the 911 Center. In these cases, we always have to respond until we find out exactly what the emergency might be. It could be a carbon monoxide alarm, a fire or anything else that would set off an emergency alarm. We receive many emergency calls to unattended buildings with alarm systems, and we immediately respond to all of them while the 911 Center tries to contact a person named on the alarm contract. Sometimes we are cancelled en route, and other times no reporting party can be contacted, and we have to arrive on site ready to handle anything we encounter.
May 04 - Later that same day, we get a call about wires down on East Brow Road, which means there is a hot electric wire on or near the ground. Apparently, a wire was hanging low and the reporting party stated he saw a bus hit the wire and the wire hit the road. Aside from the obvious danger to anyone walking or driving on the road, many times we have seen a hot wire start a fire. We have to respond to secure the area but also have an engine and firefighters ready in the event that the grass or a tree of a fence catches fire because of the downed wire.
May 04 - Later that same day, we get a report of a tree blocking a road. On Ivory Avenue, a person reports seeing a tree fall and states that it is blocking the entire road. Yes, this is an emergency that we also take seriously. Keeping the roads open for emergency services is very much a priority for our district. Mostly due to the medical emergencies we encounter, we need to keep the roads open for any ambulance traffic that may be required in our district. Since medical calls tend to be about one half of the calls we receive, getting a truck and a crew and a chainsaw to the scene to clear the road are part of our job as emergency responders.
May 05 - At 8 a.m. we get a call about a medical emergency on East Brow Road. In the case of serious medical calls, we are notified the same time as the Hamilton County ambulance service. Typically, we are able to arrive first, as we are in the immediate area, and can provide immediate basic life support. When an ambulance arrives, we can then notify EMS personnel of the signs and symptoms and assist with the patient and getting him or her into the ambulance for transport.
The above calls are just a few of the many calls we get every month. Now, don’t get the impression that we run this many calls in a short period of days. Our role as emergency service providers is not this predictable. While we do average over 300 calls a year, the calls tend to come at us at different times on different days. Mostly feast or famine, we typically get a lot of calls in a few days and then go for quite a few days without any calls. We just never know, but we are always ready for whatever comes our way because that is just what we do.
As always, if you have questions or comments, or would like to become a member of WRES, we encourage you to contact us at any time. Call us at (423) 886-5974 and leave a message or send us a message on our Facebook page and we will get back to you. However, if you have an emergency or even think you may need some assistance, always call 911 for immediate assistance.
by Jay Heavilon