Breaking news. Emergency alert notification calls in wildfire malfunctioned

Even more reason not to depend on the government to make decisions for you and to use your own common sense when trying to decide whether to evacuate. It's not like they'll give you a ticket for leaving early.

JSG wrote: They'd use common sense after seeing smoke billowing toward them for several hours and progressively getting worse.

Ant that is my exact point. The family that had to race for their lives -- they should have used common sense and gotten out of Dodge rather than waiting for someone else to give them directions. I'm sorry for their trauma, particularly the children. But no one was keeping them at their home requiring emergency alert notifications before going to safety. The video at the beginning of their escape shows significant smoke and yet the dad is heard saying "I think I'll drive to the end of the road and check it out" or words to that effect.

What did people do before emergency alert notifications? Made their own decisions for their own safety. It's something we all need to do.

Couple of questions on this emergency alert notification issue.

How many actually registered for this service?
What did people do before emergency alert notifications?

No emergency alert notification during the Hayman Fire.

I have to agree that I don't need to be told by the government to leave when I am staring at a smoke plume and fire.

No one had to tell me not to put firewood under my deck.
No one tells me to clean my gutters and rake pine needles away from my house.
No had to tell me to cut my low hanging tree limbs.

We all have to take responsibility for ourselves and our property.

Mtn Gramma wrote:

JSG wrote: They'd use common sense after seeing smoke billowing toward them for several hours and progressively getting worse.

Ant that is my exact point. The family that had to race for their lives -- they should have used common sense and gotten out of Dodge rather than waiting for someone else to give them directions. I'm sorry for their trauma, particularly the children. But no one was keeping them at their home requiring emergency alert notifications before going to safety. The video at the beginning of their escape shows significant smoke and yet the dad is heard saying "I think I'll drive to the end of the road and check it out" or words to that effect.

What did people do before emergency alert notifications? Made their own decisions for their own safety. It's something we all need to do.

Listen this is a common phenomenon people do it with doctors as well. They think doctors don't make mistakes and don't even check medicines given to them then when they find out it was some crazy med they believe that is the doctor's fault. It is the docs fault, but you gotta learn to use your own thinking. Trust your own instincts. Society on a whole does this. I think it is a common thing and the officials need to take that seriously. Especially if the reports are true that 911 or whoever they called told them to stop calling. This stuff is not an exact science so officials need to be very transparent and really, really clear. JMO.

I remember when there was an eggo shortage and people were so worried that they would not get 'waffles'. LOL, they didn't ever think that they could cook waffles. It is a reliance problem that officials need to recognize. No need to blame anyone, I really can see why it happens. But take it seriously and fix it. Also, the officials are seeing things from a wider view than a person in a fire. When you are living in a forest you can't see through the trees (yeah,pun) take it really seriously that people aren't going to know when to leave. If I were in that position I would be gone at the first sign of smoke but not everyone spends their whole life researching each and every bit of what to do. What if you just moved there from another state? There are many variables. We are talking about lives here. BE REALLY CLEAR AND DON'T ASSUME PEOPLE NATURALLY KNOW. AND in the middle of a fire things are crazy sometimes no one knows what is going on. So officials, you do a great job, but be transparent in this and post it everywhere that you should listen to your instincts they are there for a reason. JMO.

Lower North Fork Fire Victim Made Initial 911 Call

7NEWS was the first to obtain the 911 recordings from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. The fifth recorded call came from Sam Lucas. He died in the fire, along with his wife Linda.

www.thedenverchannel.com/news/30822521/detail.html

If you know any of the people in the Kuehster area, you would know that they have and use common sense.

What I have learned from this experience is to never trust 911 dispatcher when they say they are aware of it and it is being taken care of.

As Jackie Kelley said do not rely on them for anything!

Has it occurred to any of you that the 911 callers knew the magnitude of the situation and wanted to help other neighbors understand - 911 being the fastest, best way to reach many. Only to have 911 dispatcher rebuff or minimize their reports.

akilina wrote: Has it occurred to any of you that the 911 callers knthe magnitude of the situation and wanted to help other neighbors understand - 911 being the fastest, best way to reach many. Only to have 911 dispatcher rebuff or minimize their reports.

Understanding THAT would be the logic,yes. What I DON'T understand iS NOT taking it further,asking to speak to a supervisor,calling
OTHER agencies,9whats to know does a REALLY good job when contacted,there were OTHER things that could have been done to
get the word OUT......you can NOT be passive when there is a critical mass problem. It is the same with doctors,medical field, IF you
are NOT getting answers OR the answers are NOT satisfactory then you get a second opinion,make contact with supervisors,and then
you ESCALATE it to THEIR supervisor......it called being assertive. JMO( I do understand at the later part of the day things had reached
critical mass......BUT earlier,being passive was NOT a good choice...jmo

Apparently the 911 calls "malfunctioned" too.... people were told it was just a controlled burn.

911 Told Fire Victim That Fire Was Controlled Burn
Sam Lucas Called For Help; Friend Of Ann Appel Called 911, Concerned For Her Safety

Caller: "Hi, I'm calling about a fire. Do you have a report of a fire over in the, like, Foxton Road area?"

Dispatch: "Yes ma'am. That is a controlled burn. It was lit last week and they're out there -- uh, they're out finishing it up."

Caller: "Guess what, it didn't go out, right?"

Dispatch: "Yeah, I guess not."

Before evacuations were ordered, dispatchers were alerting callers to keep watching the news.

Dispatch: "It's in the same exact area where they were doing the controlled burn."

Caller:"There hasn't been any evacuations or anything?"

Dispatch: "Nope, the news knows about it and will keep you updated, OK?"

Shortly after that, dispatchers talked about sending out reverse notifications to warn residents.

Caller: "I'm going to be leaving this residence, so how will I know if it's going to be bad or not?"

Dispatch: "We would put out, like a notification, if it's getting that bad."

www.thedenverchannel.com/news/30822521/detail.html

One the comments on the story is worth sharing:

Ed Carpenter
These thoughts come from personal experience working as a State-certified SAR volunteer during several wildfires with a sheriff's office in Southern California. Anyone with experience knows that, in the early stages of an emergency, communication and quick responses are crucial to success... matters become complex almost immediately... plans cannot cover all possible scenarios... add confusion and hysteria and the disaster becomes reality to those citizens experiencing it... Even though there is more to this story in the "good news" category, this collection of 911 recordings is clearly damning... placing underpaid and possibly under-trained dispatchers on the tip of the response spear without immediate support and access to an emergency response coordinator for actionable responses to calls, is a cardinal planning breach... those dispatchers did not come to work that day wanting to give bad information to desperate callers... an independent investigation (with key recommendations) of this entire event and the agencies involved is the only way to help ensure this doesn't happen again... Mr. Lucas, like many we hear calling 9-1-1, was being the engaged citizen we all should aspire to be... the loss of he and his bride underscores Mick's comment - go with your gut... and I add: cautiously rely on government support... oh, one more thing: local media and the JEFFCO SD did an amazing job keeping us all up-to-date... unfortunately, for those in the effected area, one of the first items of infrastructure to be destroyed in a wildfire is often overhead power distribution and without power there is no t.v., radio, wireline phone service or water well pumps...