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A Nice Little 9-1-1 Horror Story
Posted by : pbc.madler on Tuesday, November 25, 2003 - 07:02 PM
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What happens when you abuse the 9-1-1 system by calling when you do not have a real emergency. You might tie up incoming 9-1-1 lines that other people whoes life, health, or property are truely endangered. Read this reprint of an article By William H. Mason in the December 1996 National Emergency Number News Magazine. It is a fictional account of what could happen.
To hear the '9-1-1 Horror Story" click here.
“9-1-1 here. What is your Emergency”
“Can you help me?”
“That’s what we’re here for ma’am. What do you need? Police, fire department, EMS?”
“Oh, none of those. I have to find Smith Street and I have managed to get lost. I need you to help me find my way.”
“That’s not what we’re here for. 9-1-1 is for emergencies!”
“But this IS an emergency! I have to pick up my son Sean and get him home by 5:30. His music lesson is very important and his music teacher gets very upset if he is ever a little late. Sean is so talented and he will someday be a famous pianist. He CANNOT miss even ONE lesson. You HAVE to help me”
“But we are for life-and-death emergencies…”
“THIS IS A LIFE-AND-DEATH EMERGENCY! I’m talking about my son’s future! His entire life, his career!”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I can’t help you! It’s 4:15 now and the rush hour, the most dangerous time of day is just upon us. Please hang up and clear the line!”
“I NEED YOUR HELP! This part of town frightens me and I must find Smith Street NOW! This part of town frightens me and I must find Smith Street NOW! Don’t turn me away when I need you! Can’t you understand this is important and I need you to help me? Just give me a little help and talk me through to Smith Street!”
“Ma’am, you can stop at a gas station and get directions. 9-1-1 is for dire emergencies. Please clear the line.”
“I TOLD YOU THIS IS A DIRE EMERGENCY! NOW YOU GIVE ME DIRECTIONS OR I WILL REPORT YOU TO YOUR SUPERVISOR! I AM ON DRAYTON STREET AND I DON’T KNOW HOW TO GET TO SMITH STREET FROM HERE. NOW HELP ME.”
“Ma’am, I really need you to clear this line. All of our lines are lit up and if a true emergency call comes in this line needs to be open!”
“WILL YOU LISTEN TO ME! THIS IS A TRUE EMERGENCY! I WANT DIRECTIONS TO SMITH STREET NOW! AND I WANT YOU TO STAY ON THE LINE WITH ME UNTIL I AM OUT OF THIS NEIGHBORHOOD – IT FRIGHTENS ME!”
“Ma’am, I can’t stay on the line just to keep you company. But if it will help clear this line, I will give you the best directions I can. Where are you on Drayton Street?”
“THAT’S BETTER! I just passed something called Gayrton Lane. It looked like a dump pf am alley. And now I’m passing in front of a very old store – the sign is faded, but I think it says Shumble’s Grocery.”
“I think I know exactly where you are. Keep going until you get to the stop sign ahead, about eight blocks on that street to the traffic lights and turn left. That should put you on Rutledge Avenue headed in the direction of Smith Street. Now ma’am, please clear the line!”
“OK. I think I see the stop sign just ahead You said turn right?”
“Yes, ma’am. Now please hang up and clear the line. I am needed in case of an emergency call!”
“I will not hang up until I’m free for this neighborhood! I told you it frightens me! Well, I’m turning right onto this street. The street sign is missing so I have no idea what the name of it is, but if it will get me out of here, I don’t care! You said 8 blocks to a stoplight and Rutledge Avenue?”
“Yes, ma’am. And a left turn on Rutledge Avenue will take you to the vicinity of Smith Street. Now I must ask you again to hang up and clear the line for emergencies!”
“I TOLD YOU I will not hang up until you get me out of this neighborhood! Now you just keep talking while I drive. Eight blocks is not that short a distance and this is a TERRIBLE part of town!”
“Ma’am, if you have your car locked and you just drive straight as I told you, then you’re on your way out of that neighborhood. Now please hang up and clear the line!”
“I WILL NOT HANG UP UNTIL I’M FREE OF THIS NEIGHBORHOOD AND SATISFIED I CAN FIND SMITH STREET! Now you just keep talking and keep me company! I can finally see a light up ahead.”
“Just turn left at the light onto Rutledge and you will go straight to the vicinity of Smith Street. Turn left at Colonial Lake, on Arthur Street, go 1 block and then turn right on Smith Street. Now please hang up and clear this line!”
“STOP TELLING ME TO HANG UP! I WON’T UNTIL I’M SATISFIED AND QUITE READY. Now you sound like you know just exactly where Smith Street is, you’re not just reading a map are you?”
“No ma’am, I’m not. I live in those apartments, just 3 rows back from Smith Street. And I MUST ASK you to hang up and clear the line!”
“I WILL NOT HANG UP! Here’s the light and, yes, it says Rutledge Avenue. Left, you said?”
“Yes, ma’am. Left on Rutledge. Now…”
“Very good! I’m going left on Rutledge now. This is still a very seedy part of town and it still frightens me! You just stay on the line and keep me company!”
“Ma’am, you should soon pass the museum and then you will quickly be in a better neighborhood, so please HANG..”
“NOT UNTIL I’M CLEAR OF THIS NEIGHBORHOOD! There’s a jog in the street and that building must be the museum! OK. I’ll take your word for it now. These houses are looking like a much nicer neighborhood, much better than back there. Thank you for your help.”
A few hours later Sean’s mother called the woman who was caring for her son when he drowned.
“Sean died at 4:30. Perhaps if we had been contacted 15 minutes sooner we could have saved him.”
“WHY WEREN’T YOU CONTACTED? MRS. JACOBS, SEAN WAS VISITING YOUR SON. WHY DIDN’T YOU CALL? YOU HAVE COST MY ONLY CHILD HIS LIFE”
“Mrs. Sheldon, I am as sorry as I can be. We did everything we could after Sean fell in the lake, but we are not EMS and our skills are limited. I did call 9-1-1 for help, but all I got was a busy signal.”
“BUSY SIGNAL! BUSY SIGNAL! THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AVAILABLE TO HELP WHEN PEOPLE HAVE AN EMERGENCY! WHY DIDN’T YOU DO SOMETHING ELSE? MY SON IS DEAD!”
“Mrs. Sheldon, I know you’re hurting. Just like I would if it were my Johnny. I wish I could have done something! But like I said, our skills my husband and me, our skills are limited and we just did not have what it takes to revive Sean. He was under the water for 10 minutes or even more.”
“WHAT TIME DID THIS HAPPEN? I’M GOING TO FIND OUT WHO WAS ON DUTY AT THE 9-1-1 PHONE AND HAVE THEM FIRED. THIS HAS NO EXCUSE. THEY HAVE KILLED MY SON, MY ONLY CHILD!”
Well, Johnny and Sean were fishing and Sean fell in the lake, oh about 4:00. Since they are only 12, we did not want them around Colonial Lake by themselves, so we were sitting on one of the benches watching them. We can’t swim, but we didn’t want them over there alone. Sean seems to have got caught on one of those drain things, you know, one of those gratings, and just couldn’t get loose. The he did come loose, but he had been in the water for at least 10 minutes, and just floated up, face down you know, just floated and, and we called 9-1-1. We kept calling and calling, but all we got was a busy signal. We had our portable phone with us.”
“WELL, THAT’S SOMETHING TO WORK WITH! WHAT TIME DID YOU CALL 9-1-1?”
“It must have been about 4:15.”
When Mrs. Sheldon Called the 9-1-1 answering point she got this reply.
“Yes, Mrs. Sheldon, I’m the chief supervisor of 9-1-1 here. Yes, I have the log sheets for the time you asked about. All of them were legitimate emergency calls except one, which was a call from some woman who wanted directions. The operator tried desperately to get her to hang up and clear the line but she adamantly refused. Seems she was in the wrong neighborhood at 4:15 and was in a hurry to pick up her son for a music lesson. Name? The son’s name is Sean.”
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| A Nice Little 9-1-1 Horror Story | Log-in or register a new user account | 0 Comments |
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