# When do 911 operators send help? I hear lots of irritating questioning in urgent calls

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-911-operators-send-help-i-hear-lots-of-irritating-questioning-in-urgent-calls/723489>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 25, 2015, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-911-operators-send-help-i-hear-lots-of-irritating-questioning-in-urgent-calls/723489 "2015-06-25T23:32:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-911-operators-send-help-i-hear-lots-of-irritating-questioning-in-urgent-calls/723489/41 "2015-06-28T19:05:10Z")

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> [@cornflakes](#):
>
> Many jurisdictions have trained the entire fire departments to be first responders, if not EMTs. There may be more firs stations, and I think they just drive faster. 🙂 I did a few ride outs with paramedics. Whenever we received a call for chest pains, we were beaten to the scene by firemen who had already given the patient aspirin and may have had their oxygen already set up.

FWIW, the fire truck and crew (which had arrived first on scene as noted above) followed the ambulance I was in all the way to hospital, and wife tells me that at least two of the fire-guys made sure she was kept up-to-date on my consciousness once I became alert, etc., by radio commo between the two vehicles/hospital-team (wife was riding ‘shotgun’ in firetruck). They even helped her find me once I entered the ‘Trauma System’ (she’s legally blind, fwiw). Well above and beyond what I would consider a ‘firefighter’ duty, but Og bless 'em all. It worked tremendously for wife and I, no doubt at all.

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**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-911-operators-send-help-i-hear-lots-of-irritating-questioning-in-urgent-calls/723489/42 "2015-06-28T19:54:47Z")

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> [@Ionizer](#):
>
> FWIW, the fire truck and crew (which had arrived first on scene as noted above) followed the ambulance I was in all the way to hospital, and wife tells me that at least two of the fire-guys made sure she was kept up-to-date on my consciousness once I became alert, etc., by radio commo between the two vehicles/hospital-team (wife was riding ‘shotgun’ in firetruck). They even helped her find me once I entered the ‘Trauma System’ (she’s legally blind, fwiw). Well above and beyond what I would consider a ‘firefighter’ duty, but Og bless 'em all. It worked tremendously for wife and I, no doubt at all.

Good guys!

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-911-operators-send-help-i-hear-lots-of-irritating-questioning-in-urgent-calls/723489/43 "2015-06-29T04:26:23Z")

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Shame the OP hasn’t been back in 4 days to enlighten us further.

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