(Chelsea Update would like to thank Matt Rose for the information and photos in this story.)
On Wednesday, March 8, southeast Michigan was struck with significant high winds from early morning to late evening that created one of the most wide spread and significant weather events in recent history.
As such, the 911 communications center for Huron Valley Ambulance experienced a significant increase in call volume. As the winds increased throughout the day, the steady influx of calls also increased causing the dispatch center to back off-duty staff to assist.
On average, the communications center dispatches between 80 to 100 fire related calls per day for Washtenaw County fire departments. On March 8, the center’s fire dispatches increased by 500 percent with fire-related calls reaching more than 600.
With the increased call volume, there were also multiple major events that required management by communications staff – including several simultaneous structure fires throughout the county. In addition, there were multiple wild-land fires related to downed power lines throughout the service area as well.
In addition to fire department dispatching, the communications center normally handles around 900 incoming phone calls per day for other related emergencies. On Wednesday, the inbound phone calls increased to over 1,400.
