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
It depends on many, many things but most of it boils down to local protocols.
Let’s just give one example of a guess of what your scenario might have been:
Dispatch center dispatches for multiple jurisdictions: Bob’s Town sends an ambulance only if requested. Peterville sends an ambulance to all calls.
A more complicated type of protocol which is very common. Call Taker might indicate that no ambulance is requested because it’s only a fire alarm. Call is then sent over to the Fire Department dispatchers who actually decide who is sent. A fire alarm with no confirmed fire at a residence might just trigger a single fire engine to check on it. A fire alarm with no confirmed fire at a multi-story apartment building might trigger a full assignment of three engines, a ladder, a chief, and an ambulance,
A confirmed fire in a dumpster might get a grass rig an no engine. A confirmed fire in a residence but with verification that all occupants have evacuated might get the multiple fire engines and an ambulance but the ambulance is sent with no lights or sirens because they’re just on standby for hurt firefighters and not the occupants.
Large cities these days tend to have complex protocols with hundreds of codings and decision points about who and what gets sent.
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