First responders in Brownsville are saying they’ve seen a 20% increase in 911 calls in the last few weeks.

A majority of the calls, however, are infected people wanting to go to the hospital but are asymptomatic or have questions better handled by a family doctor, Brownsville Deputy Fire Chief Cesar Pedraza said.

“One out of 10 911 calls is a true emergency where immediate advanced life support is needed,” Pedraza said. 

The calls are putting paramedics and firefighters at risk in an already dangerous job where just over seven percent of uniformed personnel are either sick or in isolation.

Pedraza says his team will always respond when called, they're just asking for your help so they can help you when you need it.

"We're all scared - we all want to get service as soon as possible - but we also want to make sure that the ambulances are available for those true emergencies,” Pedraza said.

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