I don't get it. Why would an emergency helicopter landing generate 911 calls? I would imagine in a real emergency, 911 would have sent the helicopter so why call them? Curiosity yes, but hardly worth calling 911 just to find out what's going on. After all, who calls 911 when they see police activity?

This doesn't ring true.

Sounds like someone is trying to cover their tracks for a misuse of an "emergency" system. Chief Nickel is off to a good start with coverups instead of admitting it was wrong.

I agree with Resident and with Richard.

The headline says "defends" but when Nickle is quoted he says he would change the wording or use something like facebook instead. This does not sound like a defense to me.

There is an explanation of the thinking when the message went out. OK. Did the headline writer fail to read or comprehend the rest of the story?

p.s. I am not related to or know anyone in fire department or even city govt. I was annoyed by the message but I think the steps being taken are appropriate and not deserving of "coverup".

Much to do about nothing, as is usual in Palo Alto. I understood the message to be primarily about a helicopter landing.

I agree with Richard, I think this was a misuse of the emergency notification system. This was not an emergency. I also doubt the statistics on how many calls to 911 they get when a helicopter lands somewhere.

I think PAFD just acknowledged they should do this differently next time. Enough said. Let's move on.

I liked the alert. I like living in a town that feels small enough that a pancake breakfast is news. It's enough for me if they say they'll use FB next time.

The "alert" messages were quite disruptive at our home. It felt like an unreasonable use of this important message system. Reading this article, I realize that I should have made a more formal complaint to make sure the Chief hears the concerns of what came across as an advertisement.

Another complaint from here.

As for not waking people up, some of us who've had our sleep scheduled regularly messed up been by the NIGHTLY midnight and later helicopter and plane flights were still sleeping -- or trying to -- at 9AM.

When I saw the message I immediately deleted it, as it wasn't something in which I was interested. I didn't even realize that it was from the County Alert email service until there were articles about it in various papers, including the Sacramento Bee.

I agree that this was not the best use of this service, but it's not the first time that it has been used somewhat irresponsibly, in my opinion.

The Fire Chief's claim that he was trying to avert 911 calls about a helicopter landing in Palo Alto really is lame. Has there ever been a helicopter landing in Palo Alto in the past that has generated 911 calls? Probably not. So, how does he, having only recently arrived in town, come to this conclusion?

Twitter, Facebook, and the normal email lists, and PSAs in the local media should be more than enough outreach for these sorts of activities. Hopefully this fellow will not use the SCCAlert system for his fundraisers in the future.

Shouldn't try to justify it. just apologize for it,

Does anyone know how to lodge a complaint about all the late-night early-morning flights?

You can set your watch by them: midnight, 12:30AM, 1:30AM.

Very loud and very annoying where I live.

If the purpose was to alert about the helicopter flight, why didn't the phone message explicitly say anything about this flight? The email message did though, although the helicopter flight info was buried in the message.

It was clear from the phone message and the email message that the primary purpose was to promote the pancake breakfast benefiting Project Safety Net. A laudable goal, but not an emergency.

If Palo Alto wants a way to communicate with the city via text and phone, they should have an event line and as residents we should be able to sign up and choose what types of events we'd like to be alerted about.
Come on PA - Get it together. An emergency alert system is no place for advertisements.

On a side note:
I didn't get this alert!! I feel left out :(
I wanted to go... sniffle sniffle - I love pancakes and so do my kids *darn

I loved getting notification about the pancake breakfast and I don't have a problem with them using the alert system. It was a short and sweet message. I'm sure more folks were happy to receive it than not receive it. We don't need to create ANOTHER means for communicating.

I guess I'm one of the 10 people who complained to the city. It's a little unnerving when all 4 phones in the household start to ring at the same time, just as we're trying to get out the door to work. I heard 'pancake breakfast' and hung up. Later in communication with the city they said it was to warn people about the helicopter landing at Rinconada. Oops -- never heard that. And I live a block from Mitchell Park. Am I going to hear a helicopter at Rinconada? I don't think so. This is bordering on 'the boy who cried wolf.' That's my main objection. If it's used for non-emergency calls many of us won't bother to answer it. Then a real emergency gets ignored. How about a different system with separate sign-up for 'city news?'

I agree with Richard.

Do you know what time it was in Europe when I got this "emergency" call?

I agree with Richard, a little ___ covering going on here. I think the Fire Chief got the meaning of emergency confused. I seem to remember a story when I was kid about a wolf...

I removed myself from this "emergency" alert system because the repeated abuses. Next time I'll call 911 when something really happens.

I am fine with the pancake alert ... unless it happens chronically it is not a problem.

As of this hour (15:47 on Wednesday), there is a link up on the Drudgereport
pointing to a SF CBS TV web-site:

Web Link

Guess when you pay a Fire Chief as much as this one, he's got to do something to justify his salary.

There is no defense of this: apologies and penalties are what is needed here.

In my opinion the Fire Chief's excuse and statement are lame at best. If he was honestly trying to calm people as to why a helicopter was going to be in the area the Emergency Alert should have stated something about a helicopter at a minimum.
I'd have more respect for FD managers if they just admitted they made a huge mistake. Instead of trying a 3rd grade cover up.

The real question is why did it take the weekly 5 days to do a story. I guess they were caught between a rock and a hard place. They were hoping the story would blow over so they would not have to do a story that would embarrass their buddies in fre department -- when it did not they were forced to do the story otherwise their journalistic integrity ( I say suppressing a guffaw) would be compromised. Tough trying to be an " independent " news source and protect your buddies at the same time

Ha, right when I answered the phone and heard the first sentence, I hung up and thought, "Oh, the Palo Altans are going to complain about this." Sure enough, here we are. I agree the "helicopter notification" is lame, and I didn't even hear it because I hung up. If he really wanted to notify people about helicopters, the message should have been called at 12:30, as the helicopter appeared around 1:00.

I actually brought my family to the Pancake Breakfast (I'd already read about it) and it was quite a fun time (for elementary kids). The DJ was funny and the exhibits were interesting, and included PA SWAT team gear, CPR dummies for practice, trailer with kiddie lecture about fire safety, police motorcycle to sit on, police car to climb into, fire truck to climb into, a demo of firemen rescuing a dummy from a car wreck, helicopter landing, etc. My only complaint is that they starting rounding up people to wait for the show 45 minutes prior to the show.

The phone call/email was overkill. Just a non-invasive email to our PA residents would be a better idea for publicizing.

Yeah, I was surprised by the call, too. But now...the Chief's point about informing the public to avoid overwhelming 911 with concerned callers makes absolute sense to me.

I happened to drive by right when all the demonstrations were happening - LifeFlight, crashed car/jaws-of-life demo and when multiple fire & emergency vehicles (with lights flashing, firefighters in full regalia) were all clustered near each other at Embarcadero & Newell. Very visible. Cars slowed around the scene (appropriately) and groups of curious pedestrians were evident on the other side of Embarcadero. I now understand why an alert was necessary. Last year the breakfast was held at Stanford's firehouse - not on a main thoroughfare.

To PAFD and Facebook - thank you so much for your kind and incredible support of Project Safety Net - for delighting Palo Alto children and parents with your demonstrations and tasty food - for the critical service you provide for our community every day.

I am glad 911 was not overwhelmed - I can see how it easily could have been, had the public not been made aware. If you're guilty of one thing - it's for being too cheery and welcoming on the alert. It threw alot of us off, apparently... You'll have to "fix that" next year - warning first. (hint hint for 2014). THANK YOU!!!

OK, Eric Nickel abused resources intrusted to him, and in my opinion should be dismissed.

But the real question is, where do we go in Palo Alto to complain about deficient and inappropriate behavior of Palo Alto employees. It has been my experience that there is a cover your ass culture in city services, and one official laughed at me when I suggested Palo Alto should adopt a quality improvement program.

Yes, was out of town and got a text and a voice mail from the "emergency system". Pancakes are not an emergency. That was advertising. It's SPAM.

Oh for the love of Pete! Do you people realize that if you received the alert -- you SIGNED UP for it on the AlertSCC website? The emergency alert system is different and frankly, I'm glad we don't get many calls from that system. How was this call any different from the callout the school district sent asking parents to fill out a survey? And by the way, to the person with four phones - isn't having four phones receiving a message at the same time somewhat of a high class problem? Really? The federal government can't get its act together and the alert is your biggest worry?Get over yourselves!

"Pancakes are not an emergency".
Obviously Ken has never had to satisfy the cravings of a pregnant wife. ;-)

The fire chief should be dismissed? Get real! It was a minor disruption, no worse than someone honking their horn. Actually, someone honking their horn for no emergency situation is more bothersome to me. Fortunately, Palo Altans know better than to honk their horns when not necessary.

As far as us signing up for the AlertSCC, the implication was that we would receive only emergency calls. But "emergency" is open to interpretation. A missing person isn't considered an emergency by some. We don't receive many AlertSCCs, so if it's a call where the public can help others, it's worthwhile.

It's the sales calls which kill me.

If they're going to warn us about every helicopter and plane, be prepared to be woken up at midnight, 12:30 AM, 1:30 AM, etc.

The excuse is totally bogus.

"We have learned there are other technologies to use for event notification, such as Facebook, Twitter...." Nickel said.

Hey everyone, the Palo Alto Fire Department has just discovered the existence of Facebook and Twitter! Let's all welcome to the PAFD to 2008.

Here to voice my complaint. The emergency line has been abused.

If the alert was really about the helicopter landing, then a notice of the helicopter landing would have been the first thing mentioned in the alert.

Kinda funny how no city council members bothered to respond to this incident. Kinda sad that the city manager (who authorizes use of the Alert SCC Emergency messages) chose to let the new Fire Chief fend for himself. Guess this speaks volumes about the city manager and his lack of integrity and inability to exert any professional management skills. After promoting the recent hiring of numerous senior management positions to promote efficiency (including multiple communication positions), the city manager has shown that he would rather let his employees hang in the wind while he shamefully hides, accepts no responsibility, and acknowledges nothing. What a pity!

Using the Emergency Alert system to invite people to a pancake breakfast was just plain stupid, period. I saw the helicopter landing as I drove by Walter Hayes. I had no idea why a medical helicopter would land there, being so close to Stanford hospital, and then I remember the Emergency Alert. That was irresponsible, and costly. There is no way the PAFD sold enough pan cakes to pay for the simple hourly cost of fuel for that helicopter, let alone the hourly maintenance and crew costs, and don't forget the cost of the police needed to block off Embarcadero for the stunt, no way, this had to be a money loosing 'event', when the real cost shouldered by tax payers is considered. PAFD abuses the Emergency Alert system, pisses away probably thousands of dollars in helicopter fees (yes, they are very expensive to operate) for what? a PR stunt fail? Well done, some great community building there.

This is so sad that people are so disconnected from their community. Palo Alto Fire Dept. really just wanted people to come out and enjoy a great day. They try to do something nice like raise money for a cause that is trying to save kids from completing suicide and you are complaining about a phone call? Really??

Thanks Sally - I'm with you - and so are thousands of other Palo Altans who participated and are able to keep perspective on this.

The demonstration scene was visible & worthy of letting the public know (to not be alarmed, cause traffic problems or inundate 911). The alert - as delivered - sounded more like an ad, less like an alert. A momentary incident & very forgivable offense in my book - especially given the big picture (and the Chief's acknowledgement).

Borrowing from your words: It IS sad that a few vocal people seem so disconnected from the good that is so evident in their own community. The PA Fire Dept. - who serve us every day - did something incredible last Saturday. They created a welcoming and wonderful event for families while simultaneously raising awareness and money for an extremely important cause - suicide prevention.

Community connections protect life as well as make life enjoyable. I'm grateful to the PAFD for recognizing that and bringing us together on a beautiful Saturday morning.

More maple syrup, Palo Alto - fewer sour grapes!

This was nothing more than an advertisement that the Fire Dept. was doing a pancake breakfast. Helicopters are in Palo Alto every now and then lifting heavy items on top of buildings. I don't see a alert notice for them. Waste of taxpayer money!

@ Josh:
Agree with you that the message came off as an ad. Acknowledged and apologized for. And in the big picture - worthy of forgiveness.

But this scene was far far more than any old helicopter landing. It was worthy of notifying the public in advance - for public safety reasons.

Message should have been better crafted to inform the public not to worry.

Big picture? There was huge public benefit - for all - even for those who disapprove. Shaping up to be another great weekend in Palo Alto. Have a good one!

Much to do about nothing. I can't believe how much people are getting their panties in a wad. If the city had not sent out the alert, you same bunch of cry babies would have complained about the helicopter noise and lit up the 9-1-1 phone boards for Palo Alto and CHP. There is no pleasing some people. Damed if you do, damed if you don't. Bravo to PAFD and PAPD for this great event to allow its citizens to have a glimps of the wide range of duties their personnel perform on a regular basis.

I received the Alert and as soon as pancake breakfast appeared I switched off.

If I had seen the scene I would still have been alarmed because what I saw had not prepared me for anything of the scale it was reported to have been.
The alert did not even mention where the breakfast was meant to have been held. It did not warn me about anything.

If they had wanted to warn us, it should have mentioned the place and the demonstration scenario, not the breakfast.

I will give them the benefit of the doubt. But if the boy calls wolf again...

I very much agree with Big Picture and Sally. We went to the PAFD event at Riconada Park because of the phone call -- I listened to the phone message twice to hear all the details.

The display and explanation of the skills of the Firemen and Paramedics was awesome. We've lived in Palo Alto 40 years and have never seen a Life Flight helicopter land in a park.

Life Flight helicopters are what you are hearing flying over in the night --they are on their way from and to Stanford Hospital with seriously injured people, or emergencies, or donated organs for life-saving procedures. We should all consider ourselves lucky to have such services available to us if ever needed.

The PALO ALTO FIRE DEPT did a very fine job at Saturday's fundraiser for Project Hope, community event and demonstration!

Here's Big picture's wise words again to keep this event in perspective!
"Thanks Sally - I'm with you - and so are thousands of other Palo Altans who participated and are able to keep perspective on this.

The demonstration scene was visible & worthy of letting the public know (to not be alarmed, cause traffic problems or inundate 911). The alert - as delivered - sounded more like an ad, less like an alert. A momentary incident & very forgivable offense in my book - especially given the big picture (and the Chief's acknowledgement).

Borrowing from your words: It IS sad that a few vocal people seem so disconnected from the good that is so evident in their own community. The PA Fire Dept. - who serve us every day - did something incredible last Saturday. They created a welcoming and wonderful event for families while simultaneously raising awareness and money for an extremely important cause - suicide prevention.

Community connections protect life as well as make life enjoyable. I'm grateful to the PAFD for recognizing that and bringing us together on a beautiful Saturday morning."

Callers have dialed 911 to report barking dogs and to report their children refuse to go to school so a 911 call for a helicopter landing in a residential neighborhood would not be a surprise at all!