Please correct me if I am wrong on this point.So the question for discussion is...
Does it make sense to send all three responders to each call for help?
I would say that I can easily make a case for both sides in this case.
1) ASSESS THE SITUATION AND SEND ONLY WHAT IS NECESSARY:
This is called triage in the emergency rooms of every hospital (or if you remember that TV show M.A.S.H.) - where by someone listens to the person making call for help, asks questions to determine the need and then they send those services that they see as being necessary to solve the problem.
This would probably work in 99% of the cases involving a call for help to 9-1-1. A professional who is trained in emergency triage would need to be on duty 24/7... and maybe not just one. This might be yet another good reason to consider regional 9-1-1 emergency call centers (but that is yet another debate/discussion topic).
The worry is in that 1%... nobody is willing to have the dropped ball happen when it is your spouse or child's life on the line. In that case... send them all... send the Marines too!
However, as a cost saving move it might end up reducing the need for so much redundancy as well as reducing the load on all members of the 'rescue' teams (only sending 1 or 2 when needed, instead of all 3 all the time.)
2) SEND ALL THREE ALL THE TIME:
When someone calls 9-1-1 it is usually in an emotionally charged state. Something is very wrong, someone is hurt or dying, someone just crashed into their car, the house is on fire, etc. etc. etc. They may or may not be fully aware of the severity of the situation... they may be confused or simply not know how good or bad the situation is.
Also, there might be a large time delay if the wrong rescuer is sent when another is needed. What if the car accident simply looks minor, but in fact, someone is hurt badly or fuel is leaking out in an obscure location that no one sees... until it is too late? Or a smell of smoke in an apartment might bring the fire fighters, only to discover the apartment next door has an unconscious occupant due to smoke inhalation.
Lives are precious and can not be replaced. Vehicle engines, transmissions, tires... these can be repaired or replaced.
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Perhaps the best solution is a middle ground... where we do some minor level of triage in order to reduce the time, effort and expense on all three groups... but we also lean towards sending MORE rather than less in any case that possibly warrants it. This would probably only reduce the number of responders in 10-20% of the cases... so the question is would this small savings be worth the additional risk of harm to the public in need?
And... what happens when a call is made and someone later sues the City for not sending all 3 in the first place and they suffer some horrible loss?
I look forward to your comments and thoughts.
