Shots Fired at CFD

The recent Supreme Court ruling on being able to keep guns in your home was a correct and proper decision. That being said, an incident like this ought to have the CFD brass rethinking policies and responses to calls:

• An elderly man who apparently thought someone was breaking into his home fired two shots at Chicago Fire department personnel who were checking on his well being early Wednesday in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the South Side.

  The incident occurred at 12:45 a.m. at 6335 S. Rhodes where the fire personnel had gone because a medical emergency bracelet or necklace had activated, prompting the well-being check, according to a Grand Crossing District police Capt. Alberta Raymond.

  No one answered the door, so the crews had taken out a wall air conditioning unit to gain entry to the home when the 93-year-old man inside fired two shots at a firefighter, the captain said.

No doubt Shortshanks will attempt to use this as more "proof" guns shouldn't be in homes. Where's the family that should have been looking out for this guy? In any event, CFD might want to reevaluate their responses to "Check the Well Being." Hell, we might want to reevaluate our responses, too.

• Phone, either via the medical bracelet alert people or our own senior citizen services. Burglar alarm companies have many points of contact for clients and still, we'd estimate 35% or more of the time, we get the "no keyholder available" over the air...fix this;
  
• Infrared cameras to see if there's somebody home. CFD uses similar technology to scan for victims in fires, adapt it for "well being" checks;
• Robots or some sort of micro camera that can be introduced into the house to scan for occupants;
• Hijack phone and cable lines going into the home. If the TV is too loud or the phone is off the hook, it's hard to get someone's attention inside;
  
• Relatives or neighbors with a spare set of keys and phone numbers for other responsible parties - oh wait, that would make sense.

"Fire Refused" is going to become an even more common occurrence for "well-being" checks if the Fire Department is going to get shot at. We wouldn't blame them in the least and we would insist on it becoming policy as soon as possible.

CFD was lucky this time. Luck is a fickle thing.