# "residents told to exaggerate symptoms to get faster emergency service"



## mariomike (10 Feb 2010)

Erin is located near Guelph, ON. 
Erin is a volunteer fire service. When call volumes get a big enough boost, it can force municipalities to hire volunteer firemen as full-time employees.  

Look who is "educating" citizens on the finer points of lieing exaggerating their medical symptoms when calling 9-1-1:

ERIN—Wait times for ambulance service in this town are so bad, *residents have been told to exaggerate their condition* so they can get help faster, *an official with the town’s fire department revealed* Wednesday.

Deputy Chief Ken Keeler said residents know reporting certain maladies will *get the fire department dispatched* to their location quicker than an ambulance.

*“We teach the people around here to say you’re having trouble breathing ... which will trigger us to come,”* Keeler said, noting senior citizens feel more comfortable knowing firefighters will respond.

http://news.guelphmercury.com/News/article/594374

Which is why people die waiting for Paramedics when they get re-assigned to, _what they were told_, was a "higher priority" call.


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