[JEMS NEWSFEED] Hoax Calls Cost Taxpayers Millions

[News]

Calls like New Jersey yacht explosion waste resources.

Deputy Commander of Coast Guard Sector New York Capt. Gregory Hitchen during a news conference. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

View the full article

[Arctickat]

Not just tax payers. If my staff gets called out of their beds to go on a wild goose chase it costs me hundreds of dollars.

[Richard B the EMT]

Had a response back 1974 or 75, 2 volunteer BLS ambulances, 2 municipal BLS ambulances, 2 Engine Companies, 2 Ladder Companies, the FD battalion chief (yelling into his radio to cancel the already responding FD Heavy Rescue), 6 marked Police cruisers, unknown number unmarked Police cars, 2 Police Heavy Rescue and 3 Medium Rescue trucks on the scene with an unknown number of PD Rescues either still responding in or already canceled.

All of us had been pranked, most for a downed aircraft, others as a cardiac arrest with CPR in progress, all for an open field with nothing in it but weeds. If we had caller ID back then...

Insurance for all responding vehicles, fuel costs, salaries of the paid employees? in mid 1970 dollars, how much was the cost of that false alarm? At least no one got physically hurt in the response.