Redwood City, CA
1-800-348-8911
Dispatcher in Quincy, MA loses home to fire
&
he is the one answering 9-1-1!
Note from 911 CARES: Please read the activation below. About 6 of you around the nation sent us e-mails to help Mike out. We just (Friday at 5pm east coast time) spoke with Mike. The police department took up a collection and he has enough clothes. He just got a temporary apartment for he and his parents. They need anything for a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom that anyone would need as they start fresh. The loss of his and his parents items was 100%. See below for the address that items can be mailed or UPS’d to. This is what 911 CARES is all about. When we called him a few minutes ago, he was a typical dispatcher. “Ya, I know about you guys – I support you!” when we asked why he hadn’t contacted us for help, it was another common response… “well, it’s been kinda crazy at work and I had to make sure my parents were okay”
(CNN) -- From baby deliveries to unexpected deaths, Mike Bowes, a 911 dispatcher from Quincy, Massachusetts, has handled a wide range of emergency calls. But Monday night, the 44-year-old received an unexpected call from his neighbor: His own house was on fire. The 911 call came in about 10:45 p.m. Monday, a little more than an hour before Mike Bowes' shift ended. My neighbor's house just blew up, the caller said. "What's the address?" Mike Bowes asked patiently, just as he did with every emergency call for the past 11 years with the Quincy Police Department. The caller frantically relayed the address, Bowes' home address for 20 years.
"It was shocking," Mike Bowes said. "I thought she was kidding. It's a long shot. I mean, what's the chances it will be your house?" Thoughts raced through his mind: Are my parents OK? Are the neighbors safe? What about my stuff? Following procedure, Mike Bowes transferred the call to the fire department. Soon, dozens of calls about the fire from other neighbors began to pour into the control room. One of the callers was his mother, Elizabeth Bowes, 68. She and her husband, Donald Bowes, 72, had escaped unharmed.
About 10:45 p.m., Elizabeth Bowes was reading a novel in the kitchen when she heard the explosion and saw flames shoot through the kitchen window. She ran to wake her husband in a first-floor bedroom.
Within five minutes of receiving the call, police escorted Mike Bowes to his home. He could see the fire light up the dark sky from afar. Anxious neighbors gathered in the park nearby. He was relieved to find his parents together on the sidewalk. "My parents are alive; my neighbors are alive," he said. "It's an inconvenience, but we'll get through it."
Everything -- the clothes, electronics and furniture -- were destroyed. No one was injured in the fire, and firefighters have yet to determine what caused the blaze. They say it started in the garage, about 15 feet from the home. Mike Bowes says his job prepared him to deal with the challenging circumstances. Bowes and his family are living in a hotel, and local police officers and firefighters have donated clothes and money.
"A lot of people think dispatchers are strange because I've been joking about what happened," he said. "I say, 'If I'm not laughing, I'll start crying.' This is what I have to do."
You can watch a video of Mike and the fire via CNN.
Want to send Mike’s family a Wal-Mart or Target gift card? Just think what you might need if you are starting fresh. Checks can be made out to Mike Bowes fund. Mail them to the PD and the Police Association has set up a special fund. As for items, think towels, cook ware, kitchen items, etc but honestly the best thing is probably gift cards. 911 CARES will be doing our part also!
Send items to
Quincy Police
Mike Bowes
1 Sea Street
Quincy, MA 02169
Phone: (617) 479-1212
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