Good news for family and friends of Jamie Neale in Australia

In the past I've posted several blogs about David Iredale, the young Aussie who was lost in the Blue Mountains. He called 0-0-0 (our 9-1-1) from his cell phone begging for assistance 5 (five) times but was later found dead from lack of water. Recently another young man went missing (Jamie Neale) along it seems the same trail in Australia. Hard for me to speculate as I live in a different hemisphere. But! Fortunately Jamie Neale has been found.

The article below talks about the dispatchers and call takers who handled David's calls. It's seems as if the inquest into David's death is ending. They mention a "lack of empathy" and allude to a certain callousness in the call takers. Now, most of the call takers and dispatchers that I've met in our journeys are hard working, diligent and dedicated individuals who continually look for ways to improve their comm centers. That's good news.

SADLY not all people are cut out for this profession. And that's one reason why we are fighting so hard for mandatory, standardized training and certification. Yes, there will always be human error. But! We need to minimize those errors!

I'll get off my soapbox.

Dear Neale family, I'm very happy you found your son. You've been going through hell, I'm sure. I'm glad that hell is over.

Dear Iredale family, I'm so sorry you've been thrust into the news again and that the pain (which I believe never goes away) went deeper again with the story being renewed. Hopefully my blogging does not add to your pain. If it does, I need to know and I'll stop. It is our belief that the more people hear and read about these 9-1-1/0-0-0 tragedies, the sooner changes will come about. God bless you. I pray you find peace.

Triple-0 review urged by coroner as Iredale inquest ends

BELLINDA KONTOMINAS
7/05/2009 12:50:00 PM

The preoccupation of ambulance call takers with getting addresses and the regimented system under which they work was "astounding", a coroner has found today, after recommending a full review of triple-0 services in the wake of the death of schoolboy David Iredale.

At an inquest into the Sydney Grammar student's death, Deputy State Coroner Carl Milovanovich made a number of recommendations, including that the ambulance service, police, fire and Telstra call operators who answer triple-0 phone calls review the structure of their operations.

This inquest has identified that in all the calls David Iredale made to triple zero ... there was a lack of empathy and call takers lacked the skills ... to record vital information that was crucial," Mr Milovanovich said.

David, 17, died after becoming lost during a three-day hike in the Blue Mountains in December 2006.

He had believed the walk would count towards his silver Duke of Edinburgh award.

The coroner said David had died of severe hydration as a result of a "critical miscalculation" of the amount he and his two schoolfriends would need for a hike in the Blue Mountains.

David's body was found off the Mount Solitary track, close to the Kedumba River and the water he so desperately needed.

"David's death highlights just how dangerous ... the Australian bush can be," Mr Milovanovich said.

He also thanked David's parents for their role in assisting the inquest, telling them that the death of their son had pulled at his heart strings.

"To die of dehydration in bushland so close to water and only kilometres as the crow flies from civilisation ... only magnifies the extent of the tragedy," Mr Milovanovich said.

The coroner said among the issues to be considered should be whether there is a single state-wide call centre for all triple-0 calls, improved protocols for callers from remote locations to ensure there is no duplication in questions asked.

Mr Milovanovich said he was astonished that the Ambulance Service of NSW had not conducted a review or analysis of its performance following the teenager's death.


http://www.barossaherald.com.au/news/national/national/general/triple0-review-urged-by-coroner-as-iredale-inquest-ends/1507067.aspx

Prepaid Wireless and 9-1-1 (Urgent Communications article)

My opinion, article to follow: While, yes, absolutely "the time for talking about this is over"! But, I'd like to add, we need to use those funds collected to be able to find these phones when someone calls for 9-1-1 assistance. Denise Amber Lee had the comm center on the phone for 7 (seven minutes). She most likely, fully expecting to be found. If we're not going to do any of this any time soon, we need to educate the public on what their cell phones and 9-1-1 centers can and cannot do. Too many people are watching CSI and Law and Order and have expectations about 9-1-1 that are quite simply unrealistic. So if you're just going to keep talking, at least, educate people. The woman who died in Oklahoma, Kimberly Rae Kendrick, the young boy in Australia, David Iredale, Jennifer Johnson in Tampa, Olida Kerr Day in Miami etc........ They all expected to be found through wireless technology and were tragically disappointed. Denise's call was made from the alleged murderer's own PRE-PAID cell phone. IMO NENA, and other 9-1-1 industry experts need to start educating people on how to use 9-1-1 from any wireless phone. They can't expect a sales clerk at a sales counter, making minimum wage plus commission, selling cell phones to do that job. JMHO. I've seen some literature but definitely not enough because regular folks, outside the industry, just have no clue.


Solution may be near for prepaid wireless 911 funding dilemma

Jul 9, 2009 5:51 PM, By Glenn Bischoff

The advent of prepaid wireless phones created a nasty problem for the 911 emergency-communications sector. Where wireless operators collect 911 fees from their monthly subscribers, they cannot collect from prepaid customers because those customers don’t have billing plans; they simply purchase minutes through various retail outlets.

It’s a problem that’s getting bigger, according to Patrick Halley, government affairs director for the National Emergency Number Association, who led a panel discussion on the topic last month at the organization’s annual conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Citing various sources, Halley said that 20% of wireless phone users are prepaid and that 80% of new users in May were such customers.

Moreover, Halley cited a report from the New Millennium Research Council that predicted that 60 million people nationwide would shift to less-expensive wireless plans as a result of the flagging economy. Many are expected to migrate to pay-as-you-go options.

“This is a rapidly growing market, without a doubt,” Halley said.
Several approaches have been floated to ensure that prepaid customers contribute their fair share to state 911 funds. The one that is gaining the most momentum calls for legislation that would require retailers to tack a 911 fee onto the purchase price of the prepaid wireless phone cards they sell, in part because it appears to be the easiest to implement.

But is this approach fair to the retail community? Mark Barfield, a vice president with Radio Shack, who also participated in the panel discussion at NENA, doesn’t think so. “There are tens of thousands of mom-and-pop stores that sell these things and many won’t comply,” Barfield said. “Small businesses will think that no one will catch them if they don’t charge the fee.”

That would put any retailer that does comply with such a mandate at a distinct competitive disadvantage, according to Barfield.

“People will come into our store and ask, ‘Why are you collecting this fee when the store down the street isn’t’ — and then they will shop down the street,” Barfield said. Not only would that cost the retailer a sale, but it also could create an unfair perception in the mind of the customer, he added. “People will think we’re cheating them, when we’re just complying with the law.”

But the fact that no mechanism currently is in place to collect 911 fees from pre-paid wireless users is costing the public-safety sector nationwide roughly $200 million a year, money that is sorely needed, especially in a down economy, said Jeff Robertson, executive director of the 911 Industry Alliance, who also participated in the panel discussion.

“The time for talking about this is over,” Robertson said. “A point-of-sale model is the best way to go, so let’s get it done. We could debate this for another year, but anything that we come up with, someone will be able to poke holes in it.”

For those retailers that believe this approach to be unfair, Robertson had some simple advice: “If you don’t want to subscribe to this model, don’t sell the [cards].”

http://urgentcomm.com/policy_and_law/news/prepaid-wireless-fees-20090709/

More news on David Iredale

No opinion today. I can't find words but I wanted to share the latest news story. It encouraging that people have apologized, have been humbled and are eager to seek change so that such a tragedy will never happen to another person and devastate another family.

Sadly, IMO, it probably will happen. As long as we are not using the technology available today to detect where cell phones are when they dial 9-1-1, people will always be lost on hiking trails, in snow storms, in canals (as that lady was in Florida), in trunks (Jennifer Johnson) etc.....

I hope they address that problem too. There will always be human error but we should be doing what we can to minimize it.

Also call takers and dispatchers should be "Certified" and held to certain standards.

Take in the apology at the end. If ONLY the CCSO would have done that in the beginning....

Much love and peace to the family. It must be difficult for them to be thrust in the news again.

Link: http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-world/20090508/AS.Australia.Forest.Tragedy/

Lost teen's emergency calls prove futile

By ROHAN SULLIVAN, AP


Seven times, teenage hiker David Iredale used his cell phone to call Australia's equivalent of 911, pleading for rescue after he became lost in tough scrubland and ran out of water in 100-degree (37 C) heat.

Each time he got through, he was told he needed to give a street address before an ambulance could be sent. Shortly after the final call, Ireland collapsed and died of thirst.

An inquiry into the 2006 death of the 17-year-old exposed deep flaws in the country's emergency response system, including what a coroner called an astonishing lack of empathy by the operators who took his increasingly desperate calls for help.

Officials in New South Wales state on Friday acknowledged the system's failure and promised to overhaul it. Iredale's father said preventing similar tragedies in the future would be a legacy his son deserved.

A wilderness enthusiast and member of Sydney Grammar School's rowing team, Iredale set off with two classmates on a summer vacation camping trek in the Blue Mountains, a picturesque but notoriously harsh landscape of eucalyptus-shrouded peaks and gorges 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Sydney.

It was supposed to take three days and earn the boys points toward the Duke of Edinburgh Award, an international program to promote leadership and good character.

They were well-prepared with camping gear, maps and plenty of food. The two less experienced hikers carried water in plastic bottles, while Iredale had a 4-pint (two-liter) hiker's water bag strapped to his back.

According to testimony to the coroner's inquiry from the two survivors, the hikers' water ran dry on the first day as temperatures rose to 100 F (37 C) and they slurped it down while marching across rocky terrain and tree-lined trails. After camping for the night, they pressed on toward a river they expected to reach within a few hours on the second day.

Iredale, fitter and more experienced, kept darting ahead of his colleagues and waiting for them to catch him up, they told the inquiry. When they eventually reached the river Iredale was not there.

How Iredale became lost is not clear. But when he did, he turned to what many would consider a modern-day lifeline: his cell phone.

In audio records of his calls to "000" — Australia's version of the 911 emergency line — Iredale tells ambulance officials he has lost the trail and is surrounded by "the bush."

Dialing from deep in a gorge, Iredale's connection kept dropping out, ambulance officers told coroner Carl Milovanovich, who began his inquiry last month.

Iredale's first call to triple-0 was put through to police and quickly cut out, though not before he was able to convey that he was stuck near a peak called Mount Solitary — information that eventually helped triggered a search.

Over the next hour or so, he called triple-0 six more times. Once the call was diverted to a recorded message. Five times he was connected to the New South Wales state Ambulance Service.

Milovanovich's 35-page report released Thursday recounts the calls, and Iredale's rising anguish as time and again operators "interrogated" him about a street name that could be entered into the service's computer. He could only name the walking trail and Katoomba, the town where the trio began their trek.

On the third call, an obviously distressed Iredale tells operator Laura Meade: "I'm lost. I need water. I haven't had water for a long period of time."

She interrupts him to ask, "Sir, do you need an ambulance?" When he says yes, Meade asks for a suburb and street name, which prompts Iredale to yell that he is not in a town. Then the connection drops out.

Iredale called back and cried out, "Hey, this is an emergency ... emergency!" before the line dropped out again.

During the final call, Iredale, groaning audibly and breathing heavily, tells the operator he had fainted and needed a helicopter, Milovanovich's report says. She put him on hold twice before then line dropped out.

After this call, ambulance officials contacted the police and the two services began cooperating on a search. Police planes flew over the area, and a major ground search began.

Eight days later, Iredale's body was found slumped against a tree.

Milovanovich said he did not want to criticize the individual ambulance operators, instead blaming a system he said did not allow them to override a computer that demanded a street name before an ambulance could be dispatched.

"The relentless focus of all the call-takers in further attempting to establish an address or precise location, having regard to the nature of the calls, was astonishing," Milovanovich said.

The operators "lacked empathy" because they were too preoccupied with the computer, he said. Operators should be trained to override the computer and to recognize signs of illness or distress in callers.

Ambulance service chief executive Greg Rochford said all of Milovanovich's recommendations would be implemented "as swiftly as we can."

"The ambulance service sincerely and unreservedly apologizes for the deficiencies in the way the service managed this case and for the hurt that was clearly caused to the Iredale family," Rochford told reporters.

David's father, Stephen Iredale, declined to criticize the ambulance service but said he hoped the inquiry would help prevent anyone suffering a similar fate to his son.

"We hope that this will result in a useful legacy for David," he told reporters after the coroner's report was released.

John Della Bosca admits Triple 0 failings following David Iredale death

I blogged about David Iredale and his tragedy in Australia a couple of weeks ago. Here's an update. I hope they address the cell phone location problems too. I really really do. If we could only put a GPS chip in all cell phones. ALL cell phones so that if a cell phone uses 9-1-1 it immediately gives a location. The technology is out there. And it's not expensive. Some have said that the ACLU and others have problems with that because of privacy issues. Sorry. If your cell phone dials 9-1-1 someone is going to find you whether you want to be found or not. David obviously wanted to be found. Denise's murderer obviously didn't. Finding either location would've saved a life. Finding both locations would have saved 2 lives. David's and Denise's.

Article:

UPDATED | May 07, 2009
Article from: Australian Associated Press
THE NSW government says it will accept a coroner's recommendations to fix problems at triple-zero call centres after an inquiry into the tragic death of a teenage bushwalker.

Deputy State Coroner Carl Milovanovich was scathing of the NSW Ambulance Service call centre in handing down his findings into the death of David Iredale.

The 17-year-old student died during a planned three-day trek through the Blue Mountains National Park with two friends from Sydney Grammar School.

The trio was undertaking the December 2006 bushwalk as part of requirements for The Duke Of Edinburgh Awards scheme operated by their school.

Mr Milovanovich found David died from "the effects of dehydration", but he was critical of the triple-zero call centre's treatment of the desperate teenager.

Among his recommendations, the coroner called for all ambulance service call centre operators to have access to paramedical advice.

He also urged a widespread review of the training and protocols used by ambulance service triple-zero operators.

Health Minister John Della Bosca said the ambulance service would accept all the recommendations.

"This is a tragic case and the evidence given to the inquiry was very concerning - the government accepts there have been deficiencies in the triple-zero service,'' Mr Della Bosca said.

"The government will urgently form the working party recommended by the coroner and begin analysis of the issues identified by the coroner.''

Mr Della Bosca said work would start immediately to address the limitations of the ambulance service's existing software and database to be more effective in taking, logging, recovering and transferring emergency calls.

AAP

David Iredale and the tragedy of it all in Australia, 17 years old

My opinion first; article to follow.

David Iredale was a young teenager from Sydney, Australia who lost his life after calling 0-0-0 (9-1-1 in Australia).

This is so tragic. There are technologies available that could have found this young man. We're just not using them.

We need to use the techonologies. IMO, 9-1-1 should be evolving right along side consumer communications technology.

This is just too tragic for words. And I'm sure this has probably happened here in the states. We just don't hear about it. This boy could have been saved if not by the dispatchers then by technology. It's not that expensive, folks. If we all just paid $2 a month more on our cell phone bills, and the federal government insured it was going to GPS systems in all cell phones, that would be the cheapest life insurance you could buy. Only $24 dollars a year to be sure your cell phone could track you. I think that's worth it. It would've helped save this young man, it would have helped save Denise, Jennifer Johnson and Olidia Kerr Day. $24 dollars a year and make it mandatory the phone companies do it.

Thank you, Tracie from Down Under for sharing this story with me. It breaks my heart. I can't imagine how this young man suffered. I'm sure it happens more often than we know in boats, in mountains, in snowstorms, etc... God bless his family with as much peace and comfort as they can handle. If they wish to get in touch with us, we'll be glad to share with them what we're doing in this country. Maybe they can tell us what they are doing. You know my email address.


Placed five calls within half-hour
Operator: "I could have done better"


See story: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25373564-5006784,00.html April 23, 2009
Article from: NEWS.com.au

Fatal bushwalk ... teenager David Iredale died in the NSW Blue Mountains despite making several 000 calls.

THE harrowing final words of Sydney teenager David Iredale - recorded as he lay dehydrated, desperate and close to death - have been revealed in full for the first time.

Transcripts of the lost bushwalker's repeated pleas for help to three triple-0 operators were released as those same women admitted a string of critical blunders at the inquest into his death.

David, 17, died when he became separated from his two friends on a hike in the Blue Mountains in December 2006.

He and his friends ran out of water just a day into their three-day hike, and David became lost after leaving them to find the Kedumba River.

In the hours that followed, he made repeated desperate phone calls to 000 operators, who insisted that he give them a street address to which they could send an ambulance.

David's body was found eight days later.

This is a transcript of the 000 calls David made while lost.

LAURA MEADE

Time: 11:59:42

Duration: 1 min, 41 sec

LM: Ambulance emergency. What suburb please?

DI: Hi, this is an emergency

(Operator cuts over David)

LM: What suburb?

DI: Katoomba

LM: What was the address in Katoomba?

DI: Um, I have been walking the Mt Solitary

(Operator cuts over David)

LM: What's the address in Katoomba?

DI: Yep, I have been walking the Mt Solitary track and I am near the Kedumba River and yeah, that's all I know

LM: It's Mt Solitary is it?

DI: Yes

LM: Do you know where you are?

DI: No ... I can't walk far at all

LM: Oh. What was the street you started out walking from?

DI: No idea

LM: OK. So you've just wandered into the middle of nowhere, is that what you're saying?

DI: I don't have a map

LM: You need to tell me where to send the ambulance

DI: (Inaudible)

LM: Listen. Listen. Listen. The Mt Solitary walking track may not be on a map. You need to tell me what the nearest street you know that you've gone past is

DI: Look, I'm about to faint

LM: OK darling, you need to tell me where you are, so we know where to send the ambulance

(Call drops out)

STACEY DICKENS

Time: 12:06:25

Duration: 10 seconds

SD: Ambulance

DI: This is an emergency, emergency (yelling)

SD: What's the address?

DI: Katoomba

(Call drops out)

LAURA MEADE

Time: 12:07:55

Duration: 40 seconds

LM: Ambulance emergency. What suburb please?

DI: I'm lost, I need water, I haven't had water for a long period of time (yelling)

(Operator cuts over)

LM: Sir, do you need an ambulance there?

DI: Yes

LM: Then what suburb are you in?

DI: I'm in Katoomba

(Operator cuts over)

LM: Where in Katoomba are you Sir?

DI: I'm not in Katoomba actually. The Mt Solitary walk. I'm going down to the Kedumba River on that walk

(Ms Meade keeps asking for a street. Line eventually drops out)

RENEE WATERS

Time: 12:10:08

Duration: 5 min, 1 sec

RW: Ambulance emergency. What suburb please?

DI: Hello

RW: Where?

DI: Hello

RW: Hello

DI: I need an ambulance

RW: Where are you sir?

DI: I set out from a hike at Katoomba and went to Mt Solitary hike

RW: OK, you're at Katoomba?

DI: Yes

RW: OK, whereabouts in Katoomba are you?

DI: I'm not in Katoomba, I've walked from Katoomba

RW: OK, so where are you then?

DI: I went to the Mt Solitary, Mt Solitary walking track and I'm going to the Kedumba River (yelling)

RW: OK, so you're on the Mt, Mt, um, Solitary track

DI: Yes

RW: Are you going to where?

DI: I'm on the slope going down to the Mt, to the sorry, sorry cancel. I'm on the slope going down to the Kedumba River (yelling)

RW: Kedumba River?

DI: Yes

RW: OK, Ked, Kedumba River. You're on the track, on a road track are you sir?

DI: No, it's bush bash, I may not exactly be on the track (yelling)

RW: OK so you're not exactly on the track. So you're in a car then are you?

DI: No, it's bush, trees everywhere. Lying down. Fainted (yelling)

RW: You're lying down and you fainted?

DI: Yes

RW: OK, so when you left where did you start at? (David describes having walked for two days)

DI: I went on the Federal pass walking track

RW: You started on the Federal path walking track?

DI: Yes

RW: Federal path or pass?

DI: Pass, as in the pass the lemonade or something

RW: Oh, Federal P A S S

DI: Yes

RW: Alright, we're trying to find out sir. We're just trying to find out where we can find you

DI: Wait, sorry, wait. There are two other people where, I don't where they are

RW: OK, so you can see two other people can you?

DI: No I can't see them, I can't hear them, but they are there

RW: OK, now if you can't see them or hear them but you know that they're there how do you know they're there?

DI: Because they were with me

RW: They left you did they?

DI: We got separated, I don't know how

RW: OK. You got separated. Sir, there's actually no need to yell, alright? Can you calm down, we are trying to find you. So what happened, sir?

DI: I just fainted

RW: You fainted and they left you there?

DI: They didn't, I fainted where I couldn't see them

RW: OK, you fainted where they couldn't see you and they just left you there. They didn't try looking for you?

(Ms Waters asks David questions about what direction he was facing)

DI: I don't know, I can't see properly

(The call goes on for several more minutes, David is heard heavy breathing, but continues to try to describe his location near the Kedumba River. The call cuts out)

STACEY DICKENS

Time: 12:27:59

Duration: 3 min, 58 sec

SD: Ambulance

DI: Hi

SD: You're through to the ambulance

DI: Hi

SD: Do you want an ambulance?

DI: Yes

SD: To what address?

DI: Actually, it's probably, it's in the bush

SD: Whereabouts?

DI: Katoomba. I called there about an hour, 45 minutes ago and then I fainted (inaudible). I am near the Kedumba river. I was going down to it on the Mt Solitary track

SD: Just hang on for a minute

(On hold for 28 seconds. Ms Dickens returns and again asks him where he is before telling David to hang on again and then places him on hold for another 24 seconds)

SD: Now what street are we coming in off?

DI: Hello? Hello?

SD: What street are we coming in off?

DI: Sorry?

SD: Tell me where you are?

DI: Sorry?

SD: Don't keep saying that, tell me where you are

DI: (Heavy breathing) I'm facing the Kedumba River. I came through, oh, the mountain in the middle of the valley that the Three Sisters are on

SD: And what track was that? Tell me where you are

DI: Sorry?

SD: What track is it?

DI: I can't remember. Oh, I don't have a map (groans and heavy breathing). I've been out here for an hour

SD: (Pauses for seven seconds)

DI: Hello?

SD: I need to know exactly where you are

(Call goes on like this for several minutes before David is heard breathing heavily and then the line cuts out)