Called 911 Last Night and got put on Hold

[86 911]

Last night, my friends and I all went up through the twistys in the P-car to celebrate the beggening of my 17th b-day and look at the lights over SF. When we came back down, we were on a level twisty road (Pinehurst Rd./Canyon Rd. to those of you that live near here) and all of the sudden we came around a bend and saw a car fully ignited on fire. I mean, this car was COMPLETELY covered in fire and just in the middle of the road. The fire was starting to catch the forest foliage on fire and there was no way to get past it. Then all of the sudden I hear a BOOM and the gas tank exploded and even more fire erupts. I suddenly back the P-car up real fast and call 911. Well, I get put on hold for over three minutes Now we didn't know if anyone was in the burning car, so this was serious. After I am put on hold, a firetruck finally comes, so someone must have already called it in. I then hang up on 911. It just makes me angry that you get put on hold while calling 911. Thankfully, no one was in the car after all and the car must have just been stolen and set on fire. Also note that this road runs through the middle of a redwood forest and is very rural. Plus this was 12:00 AM. Just imagine what could have happened if it was windy and the fire spread. At leas no one was hurt or in the car. What a night and a way to start off a b-day. Oh yeah, the car was an older Toyota Tercel Wagon. But damn, being only a hunred yards away in the P-car and hearing and seeing the gas tank explode was pretty horrifying. I have a very bad camera phone photo that is way too dark, but you get the idea:. The flames must have been 10 feet high:

[craigster59]

Did you at least get to listen to 3 minutes of "The Girl From Impanema"?

[86 911]

LOL, no they didn't. They did record that all dispatchers were busy in both English AND Spanish though.

[HardDrive]

"If you are being murdered, please press 1. Si le están asesinando, por favor la prensa 1......"

[Rick V]

Your tax dollars hard at work

[coloradoporsche]

Public Enemy said it best...

So get up, get, get get down
911 is a joke in yo town
Get up, get, get, get down
Late 911 wears the late crown

Ow, ow 911 is a joke

[DavidI]

If you use your cell phone to call 911, the CHP in California answers the call instead of the local police. It is a weak system that gets overwhelmed easily. Most stolen cars are not burnt because they are only stolen. Police do not fingerprint stolen cars unless there is another crime involved. My educated guess is that the car was used in another crime in addition to being stolen.

David

[86 911]

Wow David, kind of scary to think about it that way. BTW, we went by the scene again today and as we were driving by, we noticed a half full can of some sort of fluid (definatley flammable) near the spot where the car burned. Stupid F*ckers.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

For a real hoot, check out your local police department's response time for violent crime calls. When I last checked it, the average response time for a VIOLENT CRIME IN PROGRESS call was over 8 minutes. Think about that. . . EIGHT minutes.

BTW this information is normally available via FOIA if they don't give it to you on request.

I made sure I had an extra box of hollowpoints on hand after learning that.

[Langers]

Originally posted by Porsche-O-Phile
For a real hoot, check out your local police department's response time for violent crime calls. When I last checked it, the average response time for a VIOLENT CRIME IN PROGRESS call was over 8 minutes. Think about that. . . EIGHT minutes.

BTW this information is normally available via FOIA if they don't give it to you on request.

I made sure I had an extra box of hollowpoints on hand after learning that.

You're lucky it's only 8 minutes. We're well over that in Sydney, especially if the cops get stuck in traffic!

[red-beard]

Originally posted by Porsche-O-Phile
For a real hoot, check out your local police department's response time for violent crime calls. When I last checked it, the average response time for a VIOLENT CRIME IN PROGRESS call was over 8 minutes. Think about that. . . EIGHT minutes.

BTW this information is normally available via FOIA if they don't give it to you on request.

I made sure I had an extra box of hollowpoints on hand after learning that.

All the more reason to be sure to be able to protect yourself and have the right mind set to be ready to defend yourself at all times.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally posted by red-beard
All the more reason to be sure to be able to protect yourself and have the right mind set to be ready to defend yourself at all times.

Damn right - I agree 100%.

I'm grateful to law enforcement people for what they do, but whatever's going to happen is CERTAINLY going to happen in eight minutes. I'm well-prepared and capable of taking care of myself if a bad situation arises - and willing to do it.

Perhaps the most irritating thing about it is the whole prevailing mentality that people are supposed to do nothing and just passively wait for L.E. to show up. It's a point of view forwarded by starry-eyed idealists, lawyers, politicians and (unfortunately) even some police officers. Sorry, but if you sit on your hands until the cops show up in the midst of a confrontation or a violent crime, they'll likely be arriving to a scene requiring an ambulance or coroner rather than police cars. People that believe that kind of hooey are typically called "statistics".

[red-beard]

We have been misled by the TV and movies that show police officers and detective stopping crimes in progress (Dirty Harry, Adam-12, etc). The police generally show up after the crime and their primary function is to gather and protect evidence for later use in court.

I do not understand where all of this passive stuff, do what they say and you'll be alright, etc, comes from. It was just this mentality that allowed 19 hijackers to take over 4 airliners. I'm not sure about United, but American Airline's Hijack policy was to immediately do whatever the hijackers request.

It is our responsibility to protect ourselves.

[singpilot]

It's the ACLU's job to protect you and the criminal from any harm.

They have done their job magnificently.

You have more protections being a criminal than if you are a victim.

You should have remembered that last time you voted.

[DavidI]

There are some unfortunate things that delay an immediate police response. Here is how a typical call is dispatched.

You are robbed, battered, etc. After you are able to compose yourself, you call the police. A 911 operator answers the call. It usually takes about 30 seconds to calm the caller down to get information regarding the crime. 30 more seconds and the call is typed in including the location, type of call, description of bad guy, and any additional pertinent information. The call is forwarded to a dispatcher who has a computer screen indicating the status of the patrol cars in the street. After determining which police car is available (some may already be handling other crimes in progress), the call is sent via computer to the individual patrol car. The officer inside the car acknowledges the call and prioritizes the many (usually up to six calls at once) to determine the most urgent to go to. The officer then has to determine the route of travel to the call (imagine having to know every single street, direction, and hundred block for an entire city), then drive to the location. Depending on the crime, the officer then has to coordinate the safest route for all of the officers, and direct their actions. Then determine what additional resources are needed (helicopter, canine, etc) while driving to the call.

With all of that, the process is delayed for several minutes. Many police agencies are looking at GPS to help officers navigate to calls for service.

As far as "handling it yourself", you absolutely have the right of self defense. No police officer should ever expect you to be a victim and not take reasonable action. That being said, common sense should always prevail, David

[gavinlit]

The town I live in has a police response time of about 30 minutes after a certain hour (unless they're here doing something else). It's not their fault, just no police locally. I can vouch for eight minute time delay. I'm in the local firies & when we get a call out for a house fire, the best possible response time is about 6 minutes & that's with having a maximum of 5kms to travel. As David mentioned earlier you will always lose 2-3min just in the recording & dispatching process. To be honest I'm surprised the cops can do an 8 minute response in a city with heavy traffic.

[slow&rusty]

Originally posted by coloradoporsche
Public Enemy said it best...

So get up, get, get get down
911 is a joke in yo town
Get up, get, get, get down
Late 911 wears the late crown

Ow, ow 911 is a joke

That was awesome...I happened to listening to some P.E yesterday!