09-12-2009, 06:57 PM
Murder in Paradise by Chris Loos details a whole series of things that delayed response: lack of a phone to call the police, that there was no 911 system, that the police and fire could only communicate through a dispatch, that the directions given were garbled, that the Pahoa ambulance was en route to Hilo hospital with another injury, and the ambulance had to come from Kea'au (not Hilo). The problem that could still occur as of 2009 is that the fire dept. went down there thinking she was just a ways on Govt. Beach Rd from Hawaiian Beaches, end of pavement. When they found out it was two miles the captain wanted to get the all terrain rescue vehicle, because he thought the ambulance would be damaged by the road. The Rescue vehicle was in Hilo, so they finally took the ambulance in, slowly.
It was a whole chain of delays, but the condition of Govt. Beach Road on that Christmas Eve was part of it.
The resident who found her wasn't able to report it, due to having no phone, and had to wait until she flagged down a neighbor who could go to a phone. Now that people have cell phones it would be different, especially with a 911 system.
Our system is still not that great. As I found out when my neighbor had a stroke that he thought was a heart attack. He was on his home phone which is tied into the system and they're supposed to be able to locate people but it took them over an hour to figure out which driveway belonged to the house number, even though there was a mailbox on the paved road. Go figure.
It's a factor living outside of Hilo that it's going to take longer if you need to get to the hospital in a rush, and the more remote you live, and the more unmarked and not tied in to the grid, the longer. And an ambulance may not come up your road. Something to think about for people who want to retire there, one more factor to weigh.
It was a whole chain of delays, but the condition of Govt. Beach Road on that Christmas Eve was part of it.
The resident who found her wasn't able to report it, due to having no phone, and had to wait until she flagged down a neighbor who could go to a phone. Now that people have cell phones it would be different, especially with a 911 system.
Our system is still not that great. As I found out when my neighbor had a stroke that he thought was a heart attack. He was on his home phone which is tied into the system and they're supposed to be able to locate people but it took them over an hour to figure out which driveway belonged to the house number, even though there was a mailbox on the paved road. Go figure.
It's a factor living outside of Hilo that it's going to take longer if you need to get to the hospital in a rush, and the more remote you live, and the more unmarked and not tied in to the grid, the longer. And an ambulance may not come up your road. Something to think about for people who want to retire there, one more factor to weigh.