Burn victim at Church Fish Fry near Atlanta forced to find his way to hospital after 911 failed to dispatch paramedics

The tragedy occurred at a church where fish was fried near Atlanta. One of the participants fell right into a vat of hot grease and suffered severe burns. Despite an instantaneous call to 911, emergency services didn’t arrive until 35 minutes later, which prompted the church deacon to personally transport the injured man to the hospital.

Rufus Benford Jr., a member of Greater Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in DeKalb County, suffered severe burns when he was knocked unconscious next to a cooking station and fell right into a live fryer, causing hot grease to spray throughout his body.

Pastor Johnny Beasley Jr. witnessed the tragedy and yelled for somebody to call 911 for DeKalb County police.

The first emergency call got here in at about 5:06 p.m., just after the crash. A church member asked the dispatcher to send help immediately.

“We have a member who was doused with hot grease!” the interlocutor said, According to WSB in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, Benford was aware of his injuries and was in near shock as church members frantically administered first aid and tried to keep him calm until help arrived.

But the paramedics never showed up.

Almost 20 minutes passed before worshippers became concerned and called 911 again.

“We are still waiting for the ambulance to arrive, and it is taking a very long time, and he is not responding,” a terrified voice shouted to the dispatcher at around 5:25 p.m.

Inexplicably, help didn’t arrive.

Parishioners said another person called 911 again from the scene, pleading for help, while Benford lay on the bottom for greater than half-hour with third-degree burns, fading out and in of consciousness.

Pastor Beasley said concerned church members waited a further quarter-hour before the church deacon took matters into his own hands and drove the injured man to the hospital in his truck.

Church members say they made a complete of 4 911 calls, with the last call being to dispatch after an injured man was transported, and the delay in providing emergency care cost him significant time needed to save his life.

DeKalb Fire Chief Darnell Fullum later explained in an interview with WSB Channel 2 that an emergency dispatcher had classified the incident as a faint relatively than an individual with severe burns, “which is a lower priority call.”

“It’s a learning experience for everyone,” Fullum said, saying the initial 911 caller wasn’t sure what the character of the injuries the person the dispatcher was talking to had. The caller reportedly said Benford was still conscious despite being splashed with hot grease, and the victim may be heard within the background answering questions on his age and vital signs.

After hearing the official explanation for the delay, Pastor Beasley expressed deep frustration, saying Benford must have received immediate medical attention though he was conscious in the course of the initial call.

“If it wasn’t so serious, we could have handled it ourselves,” Beasley said, according to WSB.

But Fullum said the 911 call classification system is crucial for the county, which handles a whole lot of calls each day, since it ensures the severity of emergencies is accurately conveyed. He noted that clearer information in regards to the severity of burns would have led to a special response.

However, Fullum didn’t explain why the initial 911 call was not followed up with three additional calls in regards to the same incident.

Benford continues to be at Grady Hospital.

County officials said they plan to reexamine their procedures to discover any omitted details that would have made the decision more urgent.

Earlier this yr, DeKalb County faced criticism from 911 emergency services after investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that in 2023, about half of 911 callers in DeKalb County ended up on hold, the very best call wait rate amongst agencies surveyed in metropolitan Atlanta.

In April, DeKalb commissioners who reviewed the information expressed surprise at the outcomes, noting that there have been reports of improvement in response times. Commissioner Ted Terry said he plans to ask for quarterly updates on the 911 center’s performance and stressed the necessity for transparency in addressing these issues.

The same investigation uncovered several other cases where delays by DeKalb authorities in responding to 911 emergency calls had serious consequences.

In July 2021, Angela Monroe-Wood’s call for help during a shooting in Clarkston was delayed, leading to the death of her neighbor. She believes a quicker response could have saved his life.

In March, a Lithonia family had to stop a FedEx driver from coming for help after their home caught fire due to long wait times for 911 calls. Authorities attribute the delays to the county’s complicated emergency response system.