SOLON, Ohio — On May 6, Solon resident Mitchell Seifert suffered an emergency at his home. He had a severe headache that would not go away. So he called 911.
According to records, it took a Solon rescue squad 11 minutes to arrive to his home. Later, Seifert was life-flighted to Cleveland Clinic to be treated for bleeding in the brain. Since then, his family has been trying to get answers as to why it took so long for first responders to arrive.
So 3News' Lydia Esparra talked to Solon Fire Chief Mark Vedder to get more information.
"Within that same 60-minute period we had five calls," Vedder explains. "Three EMS calls, a house fire and a motor vehicle accident on the freeway. All at the same time."
Vedder also released a statement saying Solon's average response time to emergency incidents is 5.32 minutes. On the day of Seifert's emergency, an engine and squad were both dispatched and arrived 8 minutes and 44 seconds after being dispatched.
The remainder of the time belonged to Chagrin Valley Dispatch to handle the call.
You can read Chief Vedder's complete statement below.
Before Tuesday's city council meeting Solon Mayor Ed Krauss reiterated that the 11 minute wait time was "unacceptable." Krauss added that Seifert's case was "an isolated incident."
But a similar incident happened involving a member of George Egings' family. He asked Vedder during Tuesday's council meeting why the city of Solon is outsourcing its dispatch.
"I'm not necessarily saying its on you (pointing to Vedder) or your team," Egings told Vedder. "It goes back to dispatch. Why is our dispatch with Chagrin Valley Dispatch? Why is it not in Solon?"
Vedder explained that "it's much more cost effective and it's a much better dispatch going thru Chagrin Valley Dispatch than having it separately here in the city of Solon."
The Seiferts say they are looking for transparency and protecting other families in their community. They say neither the mayor or fire chief have reached out to them.
