A fire alarm went off, the operator asked if we needed an ambulance and we said no but they showed up anyways asking if we needed medical assistance. What’s the point of asking?
In: Other
When you call 9-1-1, the person who initially answers the phone works for the Police. They’re the PSAP, the Primary Service Answering Point. The first question they always as is “Police, Fire, or Ambulance?”.
If you say “Police”, they just sort you out. If you say “Fire” however, you are routed to a Fire Dispatcher, and if you say “Ambulance” they send you to the medical dispatchers. The police dispatcher will stay on the line for both until they’re certain your issue is being handled, and that you don’t require officers to attend.
They ask if you need an Amblance so that you can be transferred to the dispatcher who can help someone over the phone in a medical emergency. Police dispatchers aren’t trained for that. It’s a very different process, but it’s only really necessary if you’re standing next to an injured person or if the EMTs are going to need baseline information before they arrive.
A lot of Fire calls will send an ambulance (or even have their own) as a precautionary measure, but the important bit is getting you to the right dispatcher immediately if somebody is in medical distress.
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