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Eek! A mouse! Call 119 for rescue
By Jeanne Wu |
September 17, 2009, Thursday
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ALMOST every Chinese knows 119 is the number to dial in case of emergency or fire.
It's not the number to call for mice stuck in a glue trap, for hornets' nest removal or for lost home and car keys.
News reports lately indicate a rise in trivial but time-consuming complaints. Two silly timid girls in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, phoned 119 on September 6 for firefighters to help after a mouse got stuck in a trap made of glue.
Fire departments are required to respond to almost every request. In this case, the fire department sent a fire truck with four armed firefighters to help the girls dispose of the terrifying little mouse. Similar ridiculous cases abound.
Over 50 percent of last month's 119 calls to the fire department in Xuchang City, Henan Province, were about hornets' nests.
A firefighter friend in Shanghai tells me the department often gets 911 calls to remove a hornet's nest or help people a home or car door when they forget their keys.
Calling 119 for such trivial things not only wastes time and energy but also may endanger public security in case of emergency when resources are spread thin.
At the same time, however, frequent calls for firefighters exposes the lack of efficient neighborhood services at a time when China's old communities, where everyone helped each other, are dying away. In most neighborhoods today, you seldom know who lives next door.
It's not the number to call for mice stuck in a glue trap, for hornets' nest removal or for lost home and car keys.
News reports lately indicate a rise in trivial but time-consuming complaints. Two silly timid girls in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, phoned 119 on September 6 for firefighters to help after a mouse got stuck in a trap made of glue.
Fire departments are required to respond to almost every request. In this case, the fire department sent a fire truck with four armed firefighters to help the girls dispose of the terrifying little mouse. Similar ridiculous cases abound.
Over 50 percent of last month's 119 calls to the fire department in Xuchang City, Henan Province, were about hornets' nests.
A firefighter friend in Shanghai tells me the department often gets 911 calls to remove a hornet's nest or help people a home or car door when they forget their keys.
Calling 119 for such trivial things not only wastes time and energy but also may endanger public security in case of emergency when resources are spread thin.
At the same time, however, frequent calls for firefighters exposes the lack of efficient neighborhood services at a time when China's old communities, where everyone helped each other, are dying away. In most neighborhoods today, you seldom know who lives next door.
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