Reminds me of the time I was dispatched on a rescue call that sounded as if a young kid was drowning and trapped in the rocks at a popular deep in the woods swimming hole. Upon arrival we found a teen-age female (who would have field dressed over 250) who after skinning up her ankle then sat down wailing that she couldn't get out of the water. Volunteer firemen had called for an ambulance. I asked her equally stupid mother if she could afford $1500 for an ambulance ride for someone hardly injured. She informed that they didn't pay. They had a card. I cancelled the ambulance, and summoned enough help to drag the blimp to mom's car, and told mom to get her out of there. That was the last I heard of it.Pissed me off that somebody would be so unmindful of spending state money. We saved the ambulance call but still 4 firemen, 2 deputies, and 2 state game wardens responded to what sounded like a true emergency. No wonder so much bad stuff happens when you tie up doctors, deputies, firemen, etc. etc. on such crap as this.
I don't know the criteria for charging someone criminally for a false emergency services call but this sounds like it ought to qualify. Hope no real emergencies went unattended during this response.
