Truck Overturned On Route 104 Near Oakland Station Road

[Henry]

I got up to go to the bathroom around 4:30 this morning and heard Fairfax Fire & Rescue called out to a truck overturned on Route 104 somewhere around The Oakland Station Road.  The caller did not know how long it had been there or any other details.  I went back to bed, so don't really know any further details.

[DrewCrash]

There have been a fair number of accidents on that corner over the years.

[7F24]

Just another 911 caller that didn't bother to stop and look.  It was only the cab of a truck that was sitting on the ground, not an accident.

[Henry]

I have an awful time with stuff like this.  I thought this morning when I heard the tone go off, how fortunate we are to have such a dedicated group of volunteers on our Fire & Rescue.  What an ungodly time, 4:30 in the morning, raining, cold and most of these people have to go to work.  Sure wish there was a way to make these people accountable for making these calls.

I could rant on this for pages.  I still think that the phone numbers of these people and gathering of names would be a help in reducing this type of call - Even a call back to them to let them know what they reported might be a help.

'Nuff Said

[treebeard34]

My guess would be at 4:30 in the morning if they were driving home, they probably would not want to stop and talk to any authority figures. just sayin

[cedarman]

I've commented on this issue in the past with the same thoughts as Henry.  I was getting ready to leave for work when I heard the tone.  The same thought crossed my mind considering it was dark, raining/snowing, etc.   

I believe 911 dispatchers ask for names and phone numbers of callers.   I think it would be a great idea to give the want-to-be-good-summaritan a follow-up call to let them know the outcome of the incident they reported.

The danger is that people might be embarrassed to the point that they won't report ANYTHING in the future.

I don't think there is a good resolution to this type of call.

[mirjo]

I think you're right cedarman, there isn't a good solution, at least not an obvious one. If someone phones 911, it has to be followed up. If the caller doesn't know what the &%$ they're talking about when the call is made, then people get unnecessarily disturbed( and resources wasted if you want to go that far with it), but to be fair people are really jusr trying to do the right thing. Few people are ever going to get out of their car to actually look at a situation under good circumstances, none are ever going to stop at 430 am in the rain. Even if it's annoying to have a false alarm and I can personally vouch that it is, it is probably better that passers by report what they think they see than not at all.

I wonder sometimes if someone actually did see Sen. Ed Flanagan's car in the ditch and assumed someone else had seen it too and didn't report it. People will say that it wasn't possible, but who really knows?? Before cell phones, I'm sure many people passed an accident before it was ever reported. Of course, we likely have these calls more frequently because everyone has a personal phone.

[HayesFXFD17]

All great points made but taking it one step further I don't think it has anything to do with being embarrassed, or afraid of liabilities or anything of the such......I am a firm believer its "I don't want to see what I may see".  There is nothing worse than pulling up on a gruesome or horrific scene and having those memories stick with you.  As a commanding officer for Fairfax Fire the worst calls by far are the "vehicle accident calls" because you never know what you are going to view as you arrive on scene.  It takes a certain type of character to view such a scene let alone take further corrective actions. 

We have and have had members of our own department who have quite or no longer respond to motor vehicle accidents because of scenes they have witnessed.  There is a certain reality to this job and I hold the utmost respect for each and every persons own individual commfort level with unique situations. 

Justin Hayes
Deputy Chief
Fairfax Fire

[cedarman]

Well stated Justin, and a great point that I think we sometimes forget.

[Henry]

I guess discussing these things sometimes and listening to other people's points of view can help us understand why we do things.  I don't feel the same way about this as when I vented in my first post.  Would I get out and go check at 4:30 in the morning?  To be honest with you, I don't think so, as for the same reason as someone said earlier, afraid of what I might find.  I still remember passing an automobile accident someplace and being flagged by it and seeing a dead man's arm and hand out on the hood of the car through a broken windshield.

I also remember being told about an accident on the Brown's River Bridge years ago where there was a fatality (s) and the Fire Chief for Fairfax at that time seeing it and just going over to the side of the bridge and upchucking over the side.  I will bet that he and other firefighters & rescue still remember that accident vividly to this day.

Thanks for making me see both sides.

[7F24]

I agree with all these posts, but I still think you should try to verify what you are calling in.  You don't have to go look in a vehicle to make sure it is a vehicle.  You don't have to go into a building you are reporting smoke coming from, but you can make a lot of noise in case someone is sleeping in there.  You should also wait nearby whatever you are reporting to show us what you saw.  I do not have a problem with responding in the middle of the night to any call, if it turns out to be nothing, great, I get back to bed quicker.  I do have a problem with drive by 911 calls.  It's very frustrating driving up and down a road looking for what was reported and not finding anything. 

[David Shea]

A number of years ago I used to come home from a monthly sales meeting in Boston.  I worked for a communications company so I had a company issued cell phone. In the mid 90's cell phone were quite rare and the only people who had them were business people. 
On most occasion I would be driving thru Vermont between the hours of 12:00 and 3:00 am.  Over the 3 year period that I did this I had the opportunity to see many situations where people were in grave danger.  Four incidents come to mind.

Jeep Wrangle in front of me turns to miss a turkey,  Car overturns 4 or 5 times and lands on the driver side door next to a tree.  I open the passenger's side door and make sure everyone is ok.  Female driver has a sore wrist passenger is ok, but is not sure how to get out of vehicle without falling onto the driver.  I unbuckle the passenger and help him out of the jeep and then do the same for the driver.

2 ft of fresh snow on the ground in White River, car overturned in the median with a woman standing in the snow without a coat.  I pulled my car over walked to see if she was ok.  She told me that she had been standing for about 1/2 hour and no one had stopped to help her.  She asked me to take her to her place of work, where she ended up staying for the night until her parents could get her in the morning.

I 89 north of Sharron, tractor trailer truck was off the road down a steep bank in the middle of January.  I got out of my car in the pitch black to see if the driver was still in the truck or was in need of medical attention.  As I was walking won the hill I noticed that I was tripping on things.  When I got to the cab of the truck I noticed the driver had left.  I bent down to see what was below my feet and realized that I had just touched slaughered animal parts.  I ran out of there as fast as possible fearing of what might be waiting to eat this stuff.  Gross..

Last but not least.  A driver passed me at 80 plus miles per hour, i thought he is crazy doing this while it is snowing.  2 or 3 miles up the road he had launched his car into a ledge.  His legs were pinned.  I was first on the scene and could see he was floating in and out of consciousness.  I remembered from ECA training that the chances of a death increase when uncousiousness happens.  I yelled at him to keep him awake until a state trooper showed up.  I asked the trooper for his duty blanket.  Rescue showed up and I left.

I read in the paper the following day that the guy broke both legs, one arm had flail chest.  He was driving a rental car.

On none of these occasion did I use my company cell phone.  I did what I would want my fellow human being to do for me if I had been broken down or hurt.  I stopped to see if I could help.