Mr. Rawles,
I am compelled to respond to the essay by “Stone of Scone” on OPSEC. He wrote the following with regard to obfuscating his residence’s physical location: “The only downside to not having a valid 911 address that points to your real home’s location is that when an ambulance is called, it will go to the wrong place. In this rare emergency I will just send someone to flag them down to go to the correct location.”
I am a volunteer emergency medical technician in rural northwest Montana. I volunteer out of a sense of duty to my neighbors and the conviction that those who can… should. I don’t enjoy the job. I have often wanted to quit, but our fire department has only five volunteers who are qualified to treat and transport patients in the ambulance.
Anyway, since we rarely get detailed information about a patient from the county’s 911 dispatch, I prefer focusing my mind when I am driving the ambulance on game planning what I am going to do when I get on scene… not on trying to figure out where the hell the patient is! When I waste precious time trying to find a patient, I am not bringing my A Game when I do get to that patient’s side. Worse, the patient is losing time that may make the difference in whether the patient lives or otherwise adversely affect the patient’s quality of life or recovery time.
The idea that someone will be available to flag the ambulance down is an idea held by many residents in my fire district who will not put up an address marker that is visible from the road — let alone visible at night. Most people out here are either practicing Stone of Scone’s version of OPSEC or are simply too lazy to bother.
Inevitably the 0300 a.m. call-out in the dead of winter is to an address that neither I nor my partner in the ambulance knows. Rarely is there ever anyone flagging us down or providing useful information to the 911 dispatcher to be relayed to us. Usually, actual life-threatening incidents at residences involve the patient and one other person (the reporting party). Reporting parties often cannot guide us to patients, because they are either rendering aid or are emotionally immobilized.
The bottom line is that people who do not make it easy for an ambulance or fire truck to find them when an emergency arises are gambling with their and their loved ones’ lives. If those people are relying on local volunteers to render life-saving aid and transport, they are also being incredibly disrespectful to those volunteers. Many volunteer fire departments throughout the country are facing manpower crises. I cannot help but wonder how many volunteers quit when faced with the undermining conviction that their neighbors don’t care so why should they?
My sincerest hope is that, if you post my letter, people who have never even given a moment’s thought to whether they are helping or hindering their chance to receive emergency aid will be inspired to put up an address marker visible from the road in the dark. Hopefully, they will also find some way to contribute time, encouragement, or other resources to their local volunteer fire department.
Sincerely, – J. Northwest Montana