From the East Hampton Star:
Alone at home in Montauk on Oct. 22, Mary Stewart, a 90-year-old, felt weak and had mild chest pain, so she dialed 911. A dispatcher Durell Godfrey answered her call. Tones sounded over the emergency services radio frequency and then came an announcement: “Elderly female, weak, Stewart residence. . . . “ It was 1:34 p.m.
An East Hampton Town police officer was on the scene in five minutes, but no ambulance personnel responded.
The call was reactivated three times over nine minutes. Then the mutual aid system for the East End was activated, and Amagansett, the nearest neighboring district, was asked to help. When its volunteers did not reply, the call went out for a crew from Springs.
Next, at 1:51 p.m., came a call to East Hampton, then one to Bridgehampton, and then to Sag Harbor.
Twenty-four minutes after Mary Stewart had first called for help, at 1:58 p.m., Bridgehampton confirmed it had volunteers available. They reported to the firehouse near the Candy Kitchen, climbed into an ambulance, turned on its lights and siren, and sped toward Montauk.
Thirty-six minutes after Ms. Stewart’s call for help went out, the Bridgehampton ambulance passed Town Pond in East Hampton Village with another 16 miles yet to travel.
The Bridgehampton ambulance arrived at the house at 2:28 p.m., 54 minutes after the initial call. It left for Southampton Hospital at 2:40 p.m.
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