I don’t what it is about finding myself in situations this last year where a 9-1-1 call is necessary. I’m an emergency magnet, it would seem!
However, I was driving up Veterans’ Memorial Highway on Sunday when I spied a couple of folks trying to help an elderly gentleman who had crashed on his bicycle, so I stopped, of course.
Once we determined that he should be checked out by paramedics, the nice young gal called 9-1-1 and it rang and rang and rang. Mind you, this was on Sunday — 2 days before Metro’s 9-1-1 system crashed — so we don’t know what was wrong, just that calls weren’t getting through.
As it happens, I have the BCPD Non-Emergency Dispatch line programmed into my cell phone for just such instances. Yes, you SHOULD CALL 9-1-1 if you have an emergency. But in those rare cases where something has gone amiss in this world, we DO have a backup line here in Boulder City that will get you straight to the dispatcher. That number is (702) 293-9224 and you should program it into your phone as the BCPD NON-Emergency Line and only use it in an emergency if you absolutely have to, of course.
My story has a happy ending. An officer responded immediately and medical personnel arrived shortly afterwards to take him to the hospital. The next day, I saw that same officer on patrol and inquired — our bicyclist friend was treated and released, so all ended well.
OH – that reminds me … our bicyclist friend was passing through from Arizona had absolutely no ID on him. So it’s a good idea to make a copy of your ID and have it with you … if he hadn’t been able to remember that he and his wife were staying at one of our RV parks, they would have had no idea who he was or how to let his wife know he’d been taken to the hospital. So word to the wise, Fans — carry ID when you are out sporting!
