My experience using my SPOT Messenger's 911 emergency button

[buck moberly]

I posted this yesterday on advrider.com.
I'll be spending a lot more time with my FJ62 than my dirt bike for a few months maybe forever, if my wife gets her way.

The original post

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=421058



A couple of days ago I broke my leg in a crash on single track in a remote area. Many people have asked if and how the SPOT Messenger I used to call for help worked.
I've Posted about the ride in this forum post:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=420272

So here is my review of the SPOT Messenger in an emergency.

3:00 pm

I wrecked. I knew instantly my leg was broken.

3:10 pm

Two of the three people I was with left to get a truck.
At the time the plan was then I would ride out in the truck.

5:18 pm

After trying to move and feeling how severe the fractures were
I pushed the 911 button on my SPOT messenger. It was dark by
then, windy and getting cold. It became obvious that I would be
putting myself in more danger if I rode an hour or more on
very rough terrain in a truck.

5:22 pm

My wife received a call from the GEOS rescue service at home.
The GEOS service wanted to confirm that the call was not a
false alarm.

5:30 pm

The sheriff's dept called my wife to verify that I was missing.
The person who called did not seem to understand what GPS
coordinates were. They wanted to know the general area I was
riding in. They were given my exact location by GEOS but did not
know how to use the information. My wife tried to give the local Sheriff
operator the GPS coordinates but were unfamiliar with them and kept
saying it only provided a general location.

5:40 pm

My wife called the GEOS center. She was frustrated that the local
sheriff dept did not understand how to find me. The person from
GEOS advised they had already contacted an emergency response
center in Sacramento after the frustrating conversation with the local Sheriff operator.

5:40-6:40 pm

Calls came in from more informed local authorities and from
the emergency response center in Sacramento. The sheriff dept
at this time was planning on trying to find me on the ground.

6:20 pm

One of the many attempts by the friend who stayed with me
to go up to the ridge above us to use his cell phone worked.
He got a hold of his wife who called mine to let her know what
the situation was.

6:30 pm

The two friends who went to get the truck got back to us.

6:42 pm

My wife got a hold of the sheriff and told him my condition.
She also got a hold of the GEOS center and told them my
condition. The sheriff dept got through my friend's
cell phone who was now with me and told them they were sending
out a helicopter.

7:20 pm

The sheriffs helicopter arrived and landed as close as possible.
They flew me to an ambulance where I was treated until another
helicopter arrived - a medical evacuation helicopter with room
for a stretcher.

9 ish pm

I arrived at a hospital in Palm Springs were I was drugged
and ignored, but was happy to be indoors and warm.

Anyways I'm at home now with a cast and very satisfied with the SPOT messengers performance. I don't know exactly who did what or how it got done but it all worked out well enough. It's important to also have an informed contact person listed for SPOT and GEOS to relay information.

The one unanswered question I have is if the insurance I bought for search and rescue when I activated the SPOT will pay for any of the helicopter costs. I'll post about it when I know.

 

[kjp1969]

Good to hear that it all worked for you. I've wondered more than once about the "nuts and bolts" of how they contact rescue- now I know.

Hope your leg will be okay!

 

[Scott Brady]

Great post! Sorry about your leg, but it is great to hear it worked.

 

[James86004]

Glad to hear it works. A little disconcerting that anyone at the Sheriff's Office would not know what a Latitude and Longitude are.

What county were you in?

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

Wow what a crazy day for you. I'm glad everything in the end worked out ok. Now if we could only teach that idiot on at the Sheriffs department how to use GPS!

 

[articulate]

Great posting. Sorry about your leg, but thanks for putting up the details.

I've been rescued by the Sheriff before in an instance where I was able to relay my coordinates via cell phone to a person at home. Frankly, the sheriff's office in the county I was in knew exactly what to do with lat and lon -- and we're grateful for the specific location.

 

[jh504]

Thanks for the info, and welcome to the site. I was wondering if anyone else new if a 2 hour response time is somewhat normal? In a life threatening situation 2 hours is a LONG time. Might not be any way around that in a lot of situations though.

 

[cnynrat]

Great post - we don't often get to hear the details about how these devices work when the chips are down.

Frankly, I would be a little concerned about the response time. In a life threatening situation 2 hours can be an eternity. The response may have been handled with a different sense of urgency if that were the case, but it's hard to say that for sure.

On the EQUIPT web site there is an interesting presentation highlighting the differences between SPOT and PLBs. This story may be a relevant example of the difference in response between the 911 system (which SPOT contacts) vs. the Search & Rescue community (who are contacted in response to a PLB emergency). I'm pretty sure you wouldn't find anyone in the SAR community who didn't know what to do with a set of Lat/Long coordinates.

 

[MuddyMudskipper]

My family gave me a SPoT for X-Mas and its nice to know from your post how the device helps in the event of an emergency. I am also eager to hear how the insurance coverage works out for you. Sorry to hear about your leg and I hope all is well.

 

[adventureduo]

Thanks for sharing, i hope you have a speedy recovery.

I agree with the above comments. 2 hours seems a bit long to wait. If i use spot its for a serious reason like yours or someone's had a heart attack, cut their head open, etc etc and needs help NOW. Now in 2 hours. However, like above said its better than not having anything i guess.

I also agree that the local Sheriff's not knowing Lat. and Long., blow's my mind. Shoot, if nothing else they could get on google in their station and pull up a coord if need be. What's the point if the end user can't locate you. Wild.

 

[BriansFJ]

I feel the need to chime in

I have to agree with all... my sheriff dispatch uses GPS coords ALL THE TIME, not just for search and rescue calls. Especially cell phone coords to get help to drivers who have pulled over to the side of the road with a medical condition, and don't know where they are.

On the topic of the 2 hour response, understand that backcountry rescue and medical help is VERY different from urban/suburban response. I don't know all the details, but I think 2 hours is great. I've been on more than a few rescues very similar to this (insert motorized sport here, or mountain bikes, and the resultant fractured leg bone) where it took several hours just to get to the injured party, even when we knew exactly where they were and were even in direct cell phone contact.

Bottom line: when you venture into remote areas, do not expect medical help to be a 911 call and a short ambulance response away.

In this case it sounds like once the dispatch issue was straightened out (that did NOT work the way it is supposed to), everything went pretty much how it should.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

While 2 hours may be a long time for an immediately life threatening situation, I think 2 hours for a remote rescue is actually very good. It's part of the risk we take when we venture out this far. Helo's can definitely speed up the rescue as opposed to land-based rescue, but helo's aren't always available at the drop of a hat and would probably only be readily available in close proximity to a large population center.

 

[jh504]

2 hours seems a bit long to wait. If i use spot its for a serious reason like yours or someone's had a heart attack, cut their head open, etc etc and needs help NOW. Now in 2 hours. However, like above said its better than not having anything i guess.

Thats what I was thinking as well. If your out there and in trouble, 2 hours to wait for a helicopter is still a much better alternative to having to hike it out or go by 4x4. With a broken leg 4x4 travel could seriously endanger ones life anyway.
However, when investing in something like this the response time is going to really be a key. As pointed out, with a cardiac, stroke, anaphylaxis 2 hours means death in serious cases. It seems like response time should be better most places here in the US, assuming weather isnt a problem. You would expect to wait 2 hrs or more in a lesser developed country, but here?

Anyhow, I am sure the rescuers did the best they could with what they had to work with and all respect to them for risking their lives to fly out and help someone in danger. Maybe the system still has some bugs to be worked out and hopefully the ones in charge are alwasy looking at ways to improve response times in the backcountry.

(Edit) also my comments are directed toward a simple fly in emergency and not hike in type rescues where air rescue is unattainable.

 

[BriansFJ]

Helo's can definitely speed up the rescue as opposed to land-based rescue, but helo's aren't always available at the drop of a hat and would probably only be readily available in close proximity to a large population center.

In Colorado, helo's are usually only available for a life-threatening condition. So, fractured femur or open compound fracture = helo if one is available and the weather cooperates. Simple fracture or something else minor = we're loading you in the litter and carrying you out. I hope you've been losing weight!

 

[kellymoe]

When contacting a local sheriff dept. you are most likely going to be put in contact with Wanda who sits at a desk 5 days a week. Sounds like GEOS alerted other resources besides the sheriffs dept.

IMO 2 hours is pretty good if not down right fast and I wouldn't expect it to happen any faster, especially if your in an isolated area. SPOT is not like calling 911, there is a lag time and a mobilization time, plus take into account rescuer safety, is it safe flying conditions? Is there restricted military airspace that needs special clearance? There are a myriad of things that must happen before a foot goes to the ground or blades start turning.