Straight Talk: 911 calls Published Oct. 27, 2011 By Col. Stacy L. Yike 66th Air Base Group commander HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- Is winter really coming? By the time you read this we might have our first snow! Be sure to dress warm when you come out to honor our inductees into the Hanscom Memorial Park on Friday. And make sure those Halloween costumes are warm for trick-or-treating on Monday night. Safety should be paramount in your Halloween plans. For those of you outside, lots of kids looking for candy in the dark is a recipe for chaos, so please be alert in your neighborhoods. Drive extra slowly and watch for people darting out in front of you. Make sure costumes have reflective gear incorporated and allow for good visibility. Trick-or-treating on base will occur from 6 to 8 p.m. and Operation Pumpkin patrols will be out to keep the chaos in check and offer assistance to anyone who gets a little lost. My inbox has been fairly quiet this week, so instead of Questions and Answers, you get a helpful hint on 911 calls. The fire department has received a tremendous number of 911 hang ups in recent weeks. Dozens of calls have come in and at one point we had three in one hour. Under the provisions of the Emergency Call system, hang ups require a law enforcement patrol to respond in order to verify that there is not an emergency or unsafe situation. I know as we switch to the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone system, some folks are forgetting to dial 99 to get off base, but I would ask that you please stay on the line if you inadvertently dial 911. From a base phone, the call will go straight to our Hanscom Fire Department. Just tell the dispatch that you made an error, and they will log it as such. This is much easier than chasing down the hang ups. Thank you for your diligence! Don't forget next week is the Electronic Systems Center Commander's Call on Nov. 2. Also, visit the 66th Force Support Squadron's web pages for the latest on calendar events. You can find details on FSS events at http://hanscomservices.com/calendar/calendar.asp or check out the new Minuteman Commons page, which has links to all community resources on Hanscom. Visit http://hanscomservices.com/MinutemanCommons.asp and scroll to the bottom of the page to find your favorite. If you can't find your favorite, then send us a note and we will add it. Happy Halloween!