PITTSBURGH -- You may not think about it until it happens to you. How fast will an ambulance reach you in a crisis?

Target 11 investigator Rick Earle looked into Allegheny county 911 response times after a call from neighbors on the North Side.

They were upset about the amount of time it took an ambulance to arrive to help their elderly neighbor.

Bill Thompson described what happened. “I heard my neighbor yelling for help and I look out the window and see her lying on the ground,” he said.

Thompson raced outside to check on his 86- year- old neighbor. By the time he arrived a passer-by had already called 911.

Judy Joyce, another neighbor, said, “She was alert. She was awake, but she as in great distress.“

Neighbors told Earle they waited and waited for an ambulance.

Thompson said, “It was about 20 minutes had gone by at least."

Earle said to Thompson, “Twenty minutes had gone by and you decide something must be up, so you called 911?”

Bill said, “To see if they couldn't find it or if they had the wrong address.”

Neighbors told Earle they made at least six calls to 911.

Joyce said, “I called and got a very rude response from the gentleman who answered the phone, saying well you know they are on the way.”

Paramedics arrived 26 minutes after the initial 911 call. They took the woman to the hospital. She suffered bruises on her arms and legs.

Joyce said, “Not to be able to get a paramedic for 30 minutes, it’s a little bit frightening.”

Earle asked, “Why did it take so long to respond?”

EMS Chief Robert McCaughan told Earle that when the call came in at 4:32 p.m. the two units on the North Side were already out.

At 4:34 an ambulance was dispatched from the Hill District.

While that ambulance was on the way it was diverted to a higher priority call.

At 4:37 another unit was sent from the South Hills.

That unit arrived at 4:58, 26 minutes after the first 911 call.

McCaughan said when the system gets busy, life - threatening calls are top priority.

He said the call about the 86 - year - old woman who fell came in operators thought it was a 60 year old and was given the lowest priority.

Paramedic Union President Jeff Vesci told Earle, “When the service gets taxed it's not uncommon for a half- hour to an hour to wait for an ambulance.”

Vesci said budget cuts forced the elimination of 30 EMTs several years ago and that may be affecting response time.

National Standards call for paramedics to arrive at life-threatening emergencies within eight minutes 90 percent of the time.

Here are Pittsburgh EMS response times for the last four years:

•2003 : 75 percent of the time
•2004 : 70 percent of the time
•2005 : 65 percent of the time
•2006 : 66 percent of the time

Right now there are 13 ambulances staffed by 160 paramedics.

Vesci is lobbying for more to improve response times and hopefully eliminate the long wait endured by residents like the 86 - year - old woman.

Vesci told Earle,” We need four more ALS (advanced life support) units to make the system right and then we can handle anything.”

Vesci also told Earle there are other problems with the priority system.

He recently responded to a patient with an injured leg. It was a low priority call and he said they responded about an hour later, but when he arrived the patient was in so much pain he said it should have been given a higher priority.

Until they get some help Vesci said residents will have to deal with the current system.