Emergencies Santé had to initiate its Level 3 emergency plan early Thursday evening due to much higher than normal call volumes and is asking the public not to contact 911 in emergency situations.
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Between 5:42 p.m. and 7:40 p.m., numerous calls were received, primarily for people who had fallen on sidewalks or roadways due to ice.
While typically between 40 and 50 calls are handled per hour, that number was at 115 per hour earlier in the evening.
Around 1,200 calls have been received since Thursday morning.
Urgences santé therefore asks people to only contact 911 if they fear for the life of another person.
“If a life is ever in danger, don't hesitate, we will call 911, but if we can ever wait a bit, we can make an appointment at a clinic or even dial 811, you will speak to a qualified nurse who will Urgences Santé states in a publication on Facebook that it will give you valuable advice on how to deal with the situation. Help us take good care of you.”
The use of the level 3 emergency plan is very rare.
It requires paramedics who had to end their work day, as well as managers, to remain on duty in order to have the maximum number of staff available.
The situation calmed down around 8:30 p.m. when the emergency plan was back to level 2.
For the full explanation, see the video above