An Edmonton man who called 911 after he found a woman covered in blood says the response took an hour and a half.

John Saunders was on his way to the gym at Londonderry Mall early Wednesday morning when he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby walkway, where he found a woman on the ground, covered in blood.

“Her pant legs were covered in blood,” Saunders said. “She had blood all over her chest and shirt and her face. She had blood coming from her nose and mouth.”

Saunders, who has a background as a firefighter and EMT, checked the woman over before he made his first call to 911 at 5:33 a.m. He was told an ambulance would be dispatched, but because it was a possible assault, paramedics would have to wait for a police escort for safety reasons.

He had to call 911 two more times. Each time, the operator told him the ambulance was ready for dispatch, but still awaiting the police escort.

“I said, ‘What about my safety?’ And she said, ‘Well, you don’t have to be there; there’s no obligation for you to be there."

Another man ran to a nearby fire station asking for help, Saunders said. Firefighters eventually arrived around 7 a.m.—90 minutes after the first call.

Saunders said he understands first responders need to be protected during potentially dangerous situations, but not why it took two hours to find a police escort. He believes the situation warranted a better response time and doesn’t want to see this happen to anyone else.

The woman was taken to hospital and her injuries are not critical, Saunders was told.

CTV News Edmonton reached out to the Edmonton Police Service for comment, but has not heard back.

With files from CTV Edmonton’s Matt Woodman