FIRE chiefs in Derry have sounded a stark warning over the dangers of hoax 999 calls after crews turned out to a bogus shout of a house fire last week.
Their message to those who waste vital resources is: Hoax calls cost lives.
The Fire and Rescue Service in the city have revealed that as crews raced to the hoax call to a house fire in the Waterside where people were reportedly trapped, another call came in about a person entering the cold waters of the River Foyle.
It meant Fire and Rescue Service call handlers had a difficult task in trying to manage crews between the two incidents which involved life and death situations.
NIFRS West posted on its Facebook page: “At approx 8 pm on Thursday 27th December, crews from Northland and Crescent Link stations were turned out to a house fire in the waterside where it was reported people were trapped.
“Hearts race when we get these calls, adrenaline is pumping.
“We know time is of the essence an we ready ourselves, our equipment and gather information en route.
“You can’t imagine the reaction in those fire engines when you are less than a minute from your destination and you hear over the radio that someone has gone into the River Foyle.
“Everyone waits with baited breath as our colleagues in the control room have to prioritise our teams and make seriously tough decisions over who should now go where.
“Thankfully, our friends from Foyle Search and Rescue, were alerted and turned out to the female in the water along with the few remaining water rescue personnel at Crescent Link station.
“This is a fraction of the response needed for such an incident.
“One of Crescent Link’s pumping appliances was also redirected to the water rescue from the house fire.
“When crews arrived at the address for the reported house fire, we discovered it was a hoax call, and were quickly redeployed to assist at the river.
“Thankfully, due to the swift actions of our friends @foylesearchandrescue the lady was rescued from the water.
“We are so thankful to have the volunteers of Foyle Search and Rescue co respond to the river with us.
“This could have ended very differently and very tragically.
“If the second call had have been a land based incident, such as a car crash or a genuine house fire it most certainly would have, as the first call (the hoax) pretty much drained all our resources.
“Shout out to our fabulous control room staff, who are often overlooked in rescue scenarios and have to prioritise calls and make fast decisions in terms of response and resources; literally life or death decisions on a daily basis.
“Moral of the story is HOAX CALLS COST LIVES!!”
#nifrswest #controlroom #coresponders #teamwork #lifeordeath #hoaxcalls #hoaxcallscostlives #prioritise #foylesearchandrescue #notagame #riverfoyle
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