THREE EMERGENCY CALLS IN LESS THAN THREE HOURS SENDS EMERGENCY AGENCY INTO OVERDRIVE; AS LOCAL OFFICIALS REFUSE TO GIVE MEDIA OUTLETS FURTHER UPDATES, WITH SOCIAL MEDIA DECLARATIONS CAUSING STRESSED CONCERNS FOR LOCAL POPULACE ABOUT POSSIBLE LOVED ONES.
TRANSFORMER FIRE ON TOWN HILL ROAD IN LOUISA MONDAY MORNING
In a span of just a couple of hours Monday morning November 14, the Louisa Fire Department was called out on three emergency calls. And in each of the three emergencies causing them to be nearly swamped by the nearly overlapped calls, the LFD had to call in assistance from another fire department agency to help out.
Just before 6:30 A.M., Lawrence County E-911 received a call of residential house structure fire in the Cedar Gap area in the Lomansville area of Lawrence County. E-911 contacted the Louisa Fire Department and they were dispatched to the scene, Once they arrived, Louisa fire officials requested a mutual aid assistance call for the Lomansville Fire Department to the scene.
The fire was put out shortly thereafter, with the home reportedly a total loss. All of the residents of the house escaped unharmed, but reportedly the family lost three pets in the fire.
Then shortly after 8:00 A.M., Lawrence County E-911 received a call of a motor vehicle accident with injuries in the middle of the Louisa-Fort Gay Bridge. The Louisa Fire Department and Netcare Ambulance Lawrence County were dispatched to respond to the bridge wreck scene. On immediate arrival, Louisa fire officers requested a mutual-aid assistance call for the Fort Gay Fire Department to help with crisis and to eventually clear the wreck scene, which took well over a hour to do.
Just minutes after Louisa-Fort Gay bridge accident call, another emergency call came into Lawrence County E-911, this time involving a report of a explosion and fire of a electric power transformer and pole fire on Town Hill Road overlooking Louisa. The already seriously strained Louisa Fire Department responded to that scene, where as like the the other two calls, with the this third emergency, Louisa request another mutual-aid assistance call, this time they asked for the Big Sandy Fire Department (which is based between the High School and the school bus garage lot).
This is as much we can gather for now on all three of these events, as though, a few select Lawrence County officials will make these numerous ‘flash’ announcements of vehicle accidents, fires, and other emergencies, local emergency and police officials 95 out of 100 times will not give an informative status report, or updates; with once in a few times, just bare bone facts to the Levisa Lazer or any other local media outlets.
Our local emergency officials, by announcing on social media, wrecks and fires in particular areas of our county, startled and rattles people who might have family, friends, and love ones in that same area, and they inquire only for some decent information about what has taken place, only to get no further updates and silence, with sometimes outright refusals for request of any information, going as far as to make a warning and and delete a message if a civilian has placed some stated information.
In the last 2 months there have been in the dozens of numbers of motor vehicle accidents, many of which have resulted, various fires, and other emergencies, but we can not report to the reading public any information because our local emergency agencies and police agencies most of the times will not flat refuse to give any reports, even though it is a matter of public record. Not only does this go on in the Lawrence County area, but this operational behavior attitude also generally takes place on the other side of the river regarding emergencies in the Fort Gay region of Wayne County, West Virginia by their emergency officials.
And it is not only the Levisa Lazer and the local news this done to. I have personally spoken to more than one news manager or reporter at WSAZ who have remarked that Lawrence County emergency, fire, and law enforcement officials are usually the least cooperative of any county emergency agencies in the Tri-State area when they have tried to inquire about information on serious fires or vehicle accidents, and even occasionally declining to speak about a decent drug bust.
Basically, major TV and major newspapers in our region claim they will only get contacted or any that various Lawrence County emergency officials will respond to their info requests only when there is deceased involve in any event. Which is that case, becomes a much more high-profile public attention spectacle for our officials to be seen publicly for their worth.
It is claimed that our local emergency officials will not give out information to privacy rules and laws, especially involving HIPPA. But we are not asking for individuals complete medical visitation or their hospital room number.
If their is a vehicle crash or any kind of accident, we only asking for names if their injuries, the make of the vehicle, and possible cause of the accident, If someone is being flown out, we do not need any more more than that, because if you are being taken by an air medical ambulance, we know you are in rough shape, as is.
If there is fire involving a residence, we only need names of the occupants, if there were any injuries, and possible cause of the fire. Whose agencies responded and what was done to contain the blaze.
In the end, I personally think it is basically not courteous, and a lameness bordering on the edge of unprofessional, when paid government officials use interactive communications to alert the local general public of specific emergency situation where there lives involved; and when those same officials are pressed for by anyone in the populace as any helpful or need specifics on the status of a said emergency, those same officials instead will give no more responses, or worse, telling all whom may be concerned: “Sorry. We will not say. So tough luck folks”
And so we are all left to wonder. With deep uneasy concern on the status for our fellow humankind who could be endangered in our immediate local homeland.