It was early afternoon on an average day when Sheri Hedberg received an elderly man into the Jamestown Family Health Clinic who thought he was having a heart attack.

Her first reaction - the best thing anyone can do in a similar situation - was to dial 9-1-1.

"The man and his wife, who were in their 90s, drove in to us because they were afraid of paying for a 9-1-1 emergency medic to come assess the situation," said Hedberg, who is a medical assistant at the clinic.

The man was not having a heart attack. He was assessed by the emergency responder and instructed to visit his doctor.

"It happens quite often, really. But I try to tell them there is no cost unless they transport you to the hospital," she said.

In fact, there is no cost to have emergency medical technicians respond to the location of a hurt, injured or sick individual and treat the person there, according to the fire department.

That is, no cost other than what taxes already pay.

"We will respond to you, treat you, stabilize you and give you any medication, bandaging or treatment you need on location without charge," said Clallam County Fire District 3 Chief Steve Vogel.

"You pay for that with your taxes by living in District 3."

Vogel said the only time people are charged is after an ambulance

transports them to the hospital.

"The bills may seem large after the incident, but it's surprising how much of that can be covered by insurance and Medicare," Vogel said.

"There usually isn't much left over, especially when you consider an ambulance trip is generally used when you really need the medical attention."

Hedberg said there are risks and dangers of an individual driving anywhere while injured, sick or hurt. Vogel added that having an initial screening by a paramedic can be key to knowing how to move forward.

"You don't need to take the ambulance ride if the paramedics clear you," Vogel said.

"But they will make it clear when a doctor's review is necessary or when a trip to the hospital is necessary, like after a major vehicle collision."

While Vogel and Hedberg want to make it clear that people should not be afraid to dial 9-1-1, those answering the phones ask the public to use sound judgment when dialing the emergency number.

"Basically, if you see a situation where someone's life, safety or property is in danger, dial 9-1-1," said Peninsula Communications supervisor Karl Hatton.

Hatton recalled several types of calls he hopes no longer come through the dispatch center.

"People call for the time of day, road conditions, the weather and all sorts of things that 9-1-1 dispatch operators do not need to deal with when others in the community may be facing a life-threatening situation," he said.

The 9-1-1 emergency line is not the only method of reaching police, fire or other government or utility agencies. Each has its own nonemergency business line for general calls.

Hatton cited complaints on barking dogs, known controlled burns and other civil issues as examples of calls that should be made to agency business lines.

"Judgment is the key word here. A stray dog is not a 9-1-1 emergency, but a vicious, biting dog is," he said.

Vogel said the call center is busy, adding his department received more than 5,200 calls in 2008.

Hatton also said if someone does dial 9-1-1 by accident, they should stay on the line and explain there is no emergency.

"There are several types of 9-1-1 calls where if the phone is immediately hung up, the situation can be viewed as an emergency," he said, indicating a burglar or assailant could hang up the phone.

"So if there is a mistake, let us know there is one. We'll understand. We just want to know it was a mistake and not an emergency."

Dispatch operators will call the phone that hangs up on a 9-1-1 call. If there is no answer, a law enforcement officer may be dispatched.

Hatton also asked callers to be patient with operators. When it seems like an operator is delaying a response by asking questions, many times a responder is already on the way and the operator is better assessing the situation in the meantime.

"Stay on the phone with us. Work with us to help a victim or help yourself. And keep names, locations and details in mind when calling and we'll get the right people there the fastest we can," he said.

Reach Evan McLean at

emclean@sequimgazette.com



When not to call 911

_ Power, cable TV or phone service loss

_ To find a vehicle known to be impounded

_ Questions regarding court, traffic tickets, etc.

_ To ask about school openings or closures

_ To get the time of day, directions or a phone number

_ Water issues or outages

_ Animal annoyance issues

_ Weather updates or road conditions

_ Anytime there is not an emergency

or threat to safety





When to call 911

_ Any situation where health, safety of people or

property is threatened

_ Crimes in progress, assaults or drug activity

_ Structure, auto or wild fires or smoke in a building

_ Motor vehicle accidents with injury or major damage

_ Injuries, falls requiring aid of emergency medical

technician

_ Mental or physical illness requiring medical attention

_ Hazardous chemical spills or gas leaks

_ Emergency alarm soundings

_ Power lines, trees over a roadway

_ Suspicious activity or threatening animal

__ Any other emergency situation



Department business lines

for non-emergency calls:



_ Clallam County Sheriff's Office - 417-2459

_ Sequim Police Department - 683-7227

_ Washington State Patrol (peninsula) -

360-478-4646

_ Clallam County Fire District 3 (Sequim) -

683-4242

_ Clallam County Emergency Management -

417-2483

_ U.S. Customs and Border Protection -

800-232-5378

_ Clallam County Public Utility District (Sequim) -

452-9771

_ City of Sequim administration - 683-4139

_ City of Sequim Public Works - 683-4908

_ State Department of Fish and Wildlife

(peninsula) - 360-249-4628

_ Road closure information - 5-1-1

_ Phone and address information - 4-1-1

_ Health, human service, community resource

information - 2-1-1

_ Or check the government pages

in the phone book



What to do

when calling 9-1-1:

_ Start with brief description of call and location

_ Remain calm; dispatchers are trained for best outcomes

_ Do not hang up. Stay on line until instructed to end call

_ Answer dispatcher's questions while responders reach you

_ Keep names, locations, vehicles and descriptions in mind

_ Follow instructions, possibly for CPR or to remove choking hazard