911 response time

[TheMan419]

Sadly I found out what that response time is In my area. As many of us do here we live in a rural area. To my west is a highway. North is all farm fields. South and east are woods.

Sunday night the Mrs was putting in a load of laundry. She starts screaming bloody murder and telling me to grab my gun.

I assumed there was a four leg predator. Nope there was a 2 leg kind at the back door.

It was about 930 at night. Dude was shirtless, bald or close cropped hair cut and all tatted up. Said he just needed to use the phone.

Well our phone was busy being used as the Mrs was calling 911. I advised him through the closed door that we were armed and he needed to leave.

He walked west away from the house. There are no other houses that can be seen in that direction. He got down to the bridge over the highway and then turned back toward our house. Walked back past our house the other way.

County police finally showed up. Some 8 minutes later. Felt like an hour.

Obviously I am thankful he did not try to enter the home. I am also thankful I have the necessary tools to solve that problem if he had tried.

Many advantages to living in the country. 911 response time is not one of them.

Now that the adrenaline levels have returned to normal I am considering an alarm system and cameras.

Also I think I have wife convinced she needs a pistol in her barn. Of course since she teaches riding lessons to children it will have to be properly stowed in a quick access safe of some kind.

Sorry just had to get all this off my chest.

 

[widefat]

Sadly I found out what that response time is In my area. As many of us do here we live in a rural area. To my west is a highway. North is all farm fields. South and east are woods.

Sunday night the Mrs was putting in a load of laundry. She starts screaming bloody murder and telling me to grab my gun.

I assumed there was a four leg predator. Nope there was a 2 leg kind at the back door.

It was about 930 at night. Dude was shirtless, bald or close cropped hair cut and all tatted up. Said he just needed to use the phone.

Well our phone was busy being used as the Mrs was calling 911. I advised him through the closed door that we were armed and he needed to leave.

He walked west away from the house. There are no other houses that can be seen in that direction. He got down to the bridge over the highway and then turned back toward our house. Walked back past our house the other way.

County police finally showed up. Some 8 minutes later. Felt like an hour.

Obviously I am thankful he did not try to enter the home. I am also thankful I have the necessary tools to solve that problem if he had tried.

Many advantages to living in the country. 911 response time is not one of them.

Now that the adrenaline levels have returned to normal I am considering an alarm system and cameras.

Also I think I have wife convinced she needs a pistol in her barn. Of course since she teaches riding lessons to children it will have to be properly stowed in a quick access safe of some kind.

Sorry just had to get all this off my chest.

A Dog is both an excellent early warning system and a deterrent.

 

[wheelbuilder]

I think she might be best served by carrying a pistol concealed on her rather than having it in a safe and away from her. It would keep someone from getting between her and a gun, as well as keeping small hands away. If she's careful of the selection and how it's carried, no one would know it is on her.

I'm glad everyone is ok.

 

[Gunny]

For this area, 8 minutes would be a pretty fast response.

I don't know how many times I was the only county LEO on duty and be on the extreme limits of the county and get a call for the extreme limits on the other side of the county. City PD rarely leaves the city limits and many times late at night, state police may only have one or two troopers covering a four county area.

Ambulance is just as bad. While they're centrally located, many times they're asleep late at night when the call comes in, or they're at Walmart and I sometimes think they get a call, then head to the checkout counter before they worry about responding.

 

[RickB]

I agree that 8 minutes is not bad for a rural response time.

 

[RandyT]

I believe the average respond time is 14 minutes, And in some cases can be as long as 45 minutes. With one deputy on duty like the other person said, response time for me can be 30 minutes.

Which is were the phrase "When seconds count the police are only minutes away" comes from.

 

[Shaneard]

My inlaws gas grill caught on fire a few years ago. Somehow the tank started leaking and it got bad. They called 911 then videoed it. It took 17 minutes for the FD to get there. Sadly the nearest FD is less than 1,000 feet from there driveway, it's a volunteer FD.

 

[Newtocvt]

I was a 911 dispatcher for awhile. 8 minutes in a rural part of our county is a pretty good response time. I’ve seen some 20-25 minute response times.

 

[Bocephous]

A few years ago I held a man at gunpoint for 40-45 minutes before state police arrived. He had broken into my dad's house (he was away, thankfully), and the police were very aware that I didn't know how many there were, and that the perp was looking down the barrel of my firearm, as this had been explained to the 911 operator, twice. Thankfully, the perp stayed seated and he was alone.

 

[nybirdman]

I agree a large dog(s) would be a better investment than cameras or alarms.They are a great deterrent.I have a drive way alarm but the dogs are always alerted first.