What to say when you have to make that emergency call

By Olivia Bradbury/Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

With municipalities and residents across the country marking Fire Prevention Week from October 6 to 12, two members of the Bay Roberts Fire Rescue brigade were ready to offer guidance on what one should do when contacting the fire department about an emergency.

Chief Michael Murphy has been part of Bay Roberts Fire Rescue for 14 years and is the first appointed chief in the department’s history. Training Officer Adam Russell has been with the department for three years, and in the fire service for nine years. They were both happy to share their advice on what to do — and what not to do — when contacting the fire department.

Russell said people can call the fire department’s local number (709) 786-6666 in case of an emergency. However, the department gets far too many calls in which the caller repeatedly says “Hello,” waiting for someone to answer. Many people have the misconception that they are going to speak to a live operator when they call the department, but that is not the case.

Chief Murphy explained that while calls are not answered live by an operator, they also do not go to an answering machine as some might fear. Rather, calls are heard live by all firefighters through their pagers, radios, phones, etcetera. Murphy advises callers to share all the information they can when the line prompts them to leave a message.

“I know sometimes it’s a panic, and you’re probably having the worst day of your life,” said Murphy, “but try to get the basic information out: where you are, who you are, what’s going on, and a callback number. And anything else you can add to that is perfect.”

Russell agreed. “Harbour Grace is fortunate enough to pay an operator, but unfortunately we’ve had nothing approved for that yet,” he said.

Russell said an operator would be a great asset to have in the future, not just for the sake of communicating with civilians, but also in helping filter out the spam calls and hang-ups the department sometimes receives.

Russell also advises people not to be afraid to hang up the phone. When callers do not hang up, it prevents firefighters from checking the system to see what number called, and it ties up their radios.

In recent years, Newfoundland got 911 coverage. Russell and Murphy advise the public to contact 911 first in the case of an emergency. Murphy explained that a 911 dispatcher would then put callers through to Bay Roberts Fire Rescue’s paging line.

“Be calm, be clear, and try to give us the best information you can,” said Murphy. “Because as soon as the tone drops on that pager, there’s people already on the way to the fire hall.” Murphy said 911 is not only the best option because it will get a response from all agencies, but that also a live dispatcher can be beneficial in calming callers down and helping them share information more efficiently.

Russell said lack of civic numbers on houses can also cause the department trouble, especially in a rural area like Bay Roberts where properties may be situated more irregularly.

“We’ve driven past medical calls, we’ve driven past smoke alarms, just because there’s no identification on the house.,” he said.

Russell recommends residents have a big, four-inch number on the side of their garbage box or house to help emergency services identify the address. Residents are also encouraged to share any other identification marks or distinguishing features of their properties during their call, if they think it will help the fire department identify their locations.

Russell said their main aim in sharing this advice with civilians is getting response times down. Residents of Bay Roberts have given the department grief for their response times in the past. Russell wants to remind people that the department consists of volunteers, people with their own lives who dedicate their time and effort to protect their community and its residents. “We’re a volunteer group, but we take ourselves very professionally,” said Russell, adding that they try to always have a duty officer on and a firefighting crew ready.

Members of the Bay Roberts Fire and Rescue Department include, starting in the back row, from left: Jim Newell, Lauren Newell, Hamilton Newell, Michael Smith, Shannon Franey, Jordan Dicks, Blair Lacey, Roy Mercer, Corey Stokes, Shane Franey, Corey Galway, and Hayward Buttler; and in the front row, from left: Capt. Andrew Dawe, Safety Officer Newman Parsons, Capt. Doug Mercer, Asst. Chief Glenn Bradbury, Chief Michael Murphy, Capt. Dean Franey, Chief Operator Brian Thompson, and Training Officer Adam Russell. Missing from the photo are firefighters Chad Chislett, Chelsee Bradbury, Trevor Bowering, Daren Hawe, Rodney Reid, Jason Reid, Darrell Mercer, Jerry Mugford, Jeff Ward, Jordan Power, Jamie Russell, Silas Badcock and Capt. Adam Norman.