Apocalypse Not

Notes From New Year's Eve, 1999

By Michael J. Legeros

The big news of the New Year was the biggest *bust* of the New Year.
At 12:01 on January 1, the world didn't end with a whimper, bang, or
even a belch.  The lights stayed on, the phones still worked, and the
National Guard got to sleep the night.  (I'm still crossing my fing-
ers, however, for a catastrophic computer glitch that erases all car-
and student-loan debt...)  In Raleigh, NC, where extra fire and po-
lice personnel were on patrol, the first crises of the "new millen-
ium" were both comparably tame and little different than those that
occur on any other early Saturday morning.  As transcribed by Yours
Truly, here are the year's first twenty minutes of police (PD) and
fire (FD) radio dispatches:


      12:03:06 - Check in with EMS.  Nature unknown.  Female
                 lying in street (FD)

      12:03:20 - Gunshots heard in area (PD)

      12:03:43 - Check in with EMS.  Medical nature unknown
                 (FD)

      12:03:57 - Fight in progress.  Four or five males, arm-
                 ed with sticks, assaulting cabdriver (PD)

      12:04:21 - Grass fire in backyard (FD)

      12:04:56 - Prowler heard in rear of house (PD)

      12:05:24 - Check in with EMS.  Subject down in roadway.
                 Black female, wearing blue shirt and blue
                 jeans, lying in middle of road (PD)

      12:07:02 - Check in with EMS.  Nature unknown (PD)

      12:07:56 - Burglar alarm.  Starbucks Coffee (PD)

      12:08:21 - Nature unknown.  Female says she needs help.
                 Disturbance heard in background (PD)

      12:09:00 - Prowler heard.  Knocking at back door (PD)

      12:09:42 - Prowler heard.  Nothing seen.  Right side of
                 house, as facing house from street (PD)

      12:10:19 - Nature unknown.  Female crying, says she
                 needs police.  Hung up phone (PD)

      12:11:08 - Prowler seen at window.  Not sure if trying
                 to break-in or not (PD)

      12:15:53 - Domestic disturbance in parking lot.  Red
                 Roof Inn (PD)

      12:15:57 - Disturbance inside church (PD)

      12:16:19 - Illegal burning.  Reference a grill (FD)

      12:17:06 - Check in with fire units en route to illegal
                 burning.  Gunshots heard across street (PD)

      12:18:21 - Domestic disturbance.  Mutual assault (PD)

      12:18:56 - Domestic disturbance in stationary vehicle.
                 Inner Loop of Beltline between New Bern Av-
                 enue and Poole Road.  Red VM Jetta.  Stop-
                 ped on shoulder (PD)



                       H o w   I   D i d   I t
                       =======================

Two scanners, tuned to 460.150 (Raleigh Police 1) and 154.340 (Ral-
eigh Fire 1).  Two VCRs, taping WRAL as video (for time stamp) and
scanner input as audio.  Two earphone-jack patch cords.  Pen and
paper.  Patience.

For more information on local ten codes and radio frequencies, see
http://www.legeros.com/fire/#scanner

Copyright 2000 by Michael J. Legeros