Monday, October 18, 2004
Homecoming crowds jam town
Fire dept. responds to about 32 emergency calls in 24-hour period
Article by:
Dave Gomez - Staff Reporter
· dgomez@northernstar.info
Homecoming crowds caused both the DeKalb police and fire departments
to increase the number of personnel on duty over the weekend.
[Saturday] night was probably one of the busiest nights I have
ever seen, said DeKalb Fire Lt. David ODonnell.
The department raised the number of personnel on duty from 12 to
15 and still needed to call off-duty staff to ensure all calls could
be responded to, he said. A Sycamore ambulance also was called in
because of the overabundance of calls the department received.
ODonnell said the number of calls the department ran in a 24-hour
period Saturday were likely the highest in department history.
The department fielded about 32 emergency calls during that period
- several of them to the Convocation Center during the Homecoming
Jam.
The department was called eight times to the center that night for
incidents ranging from trash fires in the parking lot to alcohol poisoning.
Alcohol was not available for purchase inside the arena at any of
the planned activities.
[It] pretty much taxed our services completely, ODonnell
said.
Many of the reports of alcohol poisoning were people who had passed
out or felt sick from intoxication, ODonnell said.
While the incidents were not life-threatening, they still needed
attention, ODonnell said.
When were called for service, we need to respond,
he said.
Despite the increased need for fire and ambulance services this Homecoming,
the need for police services was down from last year, DeKalb police
Sgt. James McDougall said.
Police did not have the total number of arrests counted for this
weekend, but said it seemed better than the previous year.
Relatively speaking, it wasnt as busy as last year,
McDougall said.
Cold winds and cloudy skies may have aided police over the weekend.
The weather played a big part in keeping people inside,
McDougall said.
The number of incidents requiring more than a few officers to respond
were few, McDougall said.
There were a number of fights during the weekend, most of them due
to uninvited guests who simply didnt want to leave, he said.
As a precaution, DeKalb police doubled the number of officers normally
on patrol to 20 Friday and Saturday, and an additional 11 to 14 officers
from state and county police were called in to assist as well, McDougall
said.
Making your way through DeKalb Saturday night also proved to be a
challenge if you were traveling by car.
The city was packed with visitors causing traffic to slow to a crawl.
Lincoln Highway, Annie Glidden and Greenbrier roads and Hillcrest
Drive were particularly congested traffic areas, McDougall said.
Although the heavy traffic may not have necessarily hampered ambulances
and fire engines, they certainly didnt help, ODonnell
said.
It was very unusual to see that much traffic at [2 a.m.]
ODonnell said.
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