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Distress signal

Callicoon, NY, Retail Associate Skip Gabel and Rural Carrier Connie Minckler

Two employees at the Callicoon, NY, Post Office came to the aid of a customer during a moment of distress last winter.

The woman had fallen on ice at her home and struggled to get inside. But after getting to a phone and contacting a neighbor, who called 911, she grew panicked when emergency responders did not arrive.

The customer knew the Post Office phone number by heart and called there next, reaching Retail Associate Skip Gabel, who calmed her while a colleague dialed 911 again.

It was determined that an ambulance had been dispatched to the wrong address.

At the same time, Rural Carrier Connie Minckler returned from her route and learned of the emergency, so she rushed to the customer’s home to comfort her until paramedics arrived.

The woman, whose injuries included frostbite and a broken hip, is recovering from the incident.

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