Overdosing duo 'could have died' if not for use of Groton pull box
Groton — When a man on Monday night realized two people were overdosing near 1051 Poquonnock Road, he knew he needed to call 911, but he didn’t have a phone at his disposal.
After a bit of hesitation, the man pulled the handle in a box hanging on a nearby pole — despite the word “fire” printed on the label above it.
“He thought he was going to get in trouble,” Poquonnock Bridge Fire Chief Joseph Winski said Tuesday morning. “We want to make sure people understand that if you pull (the lever in) a street box, you’re going to get help. You’re going to get a police officer and fire response automatically.”
The man’s quick thinking, Winski said, might have saved the two people’s lives.
After receiving the 11:18 p.m. call, crews quickly treated both people for overdoses that Winski said he believes were not heroin-related, and then took them to the hospital.
“We don’t want people feeling they could get in trouble for reporting a non-fire if that’s the only way they can get help,” he said.
Dozens of emergency pull boxes exist on poles and in buildings throughout Groton and have for years, Winski said.
Maintained by certified Groton firefighters, the boxes operate on a two-wire telegraph system and thus are not only relatively easy to keep up and running, but also are the “last alarm system to fail,” Winski said.
“When a hurricane comes through, the local boxes may be the only mode of emergency communication still working,” he said. “Unfortunately, in a world so technologically advanced, we become technology-dependent. But this, it's basic. It’s a guaranteed system.”
And, unlike newer systems used in other towns — where a third-party call center directs the alerts it receives — the one in Groton sends alerts directly to the local dispatch center.
“Most people say, ‘Well, I need an ambulance, so I’m not going to use one of those,’” Winski said. “But if you have no other way to get help, pull it. We want people to be comfortable knowing the system is there for emergencies.”
“This man was very concerned," he continued, "but he should be praised for pulling the alarm. Those people could have died.”
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