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911 systems choking on non-emergency calls


Lone Star

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Does calling 9-1-1 to get 'rescued' from a big mean dog thats got you trapped in your own house constitute an 'emergency'?

If the dog is Cujo, yes.

lol

Actually, if a dog was playing jail guard on me, and not allowing me to leave my dwelling, the dog is preventing me from travelling, and holding me against my will, hence, a technical kidnapping?

LOL again. But then, again.....?

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Well if people dont stop clogging 911 it will become that problem because dispatchers will start quitting and/or demanding more, unionizing etc... and even before they are replaced outsourcing will have already begun just to take up the back log off incoming calls lol.

Great video Jake.

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If the dog is Cujo, yes.

lol

Actually, if a dog was playing jail guard on me, and not allowing me to leave my dwelling, the dog is preventing me from travelling, and holding me against my will, hence, a technical kidnapping?

LOL again. But then, again.....?

The only 'problem' that I can see in 'correcting' this situation on my own was, if I had actually shot the dog, (as I should have the right to do); I would have been arrested for discharging a firearm within the limits of an incorporated metropolitan area.

Some more 'history' on this call.....

I had been sitting in my house, minding my own business; completely unaware that I had been technically kidnapped by some monster pit bull. I get toned out for a fire call, and open the door to find cujo baring his teeth at me. Yes, I could have shot the dog, and I'm sure I would have been well within my rights to do so.....but theres that pesky law about discharging a firearm....

The only 'recourse' was to dial 911, and ask them to dispatch an officer (and hopefully animal control) to come 'rescue' the rescuer!

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>>Pranksters, clueless callers block lines for legitimate crises<<

While the volume of "junk" 911 calls is certainly higher nowadays, it's always been an issue. I'm old enough to recall when you dialed the (0)perator to request either police, fire, or an ambulance. But in those days folks rarely called for an ambulance outright. In a medical emergency you called your doctor and he/she (mostly he) would rush right over. And yes, if you had a big test at school that day it was a lot harder to play sick-hooky.

My Aunt Rose retired as a switchboard operator during the recreational drug haze of the early 1970s and she said a fairly common call was, "Hello Operator, where am I?" And, at least down to the neighborhood level, she could tell them. She'd also, if her supervisor wasn't directly plugged into her board, spend a moment or two with the lonely and the depressed. That kind of personal touch is gone now and we are the worse for it.

In an early example of, "we own the world," the current three digit system was first suggested by the fire department in the late 1950s. But it took almost thirty years before it was truly in place. And what finally pushed it into existence was the government forced break-up of AT&T in the early 1980s. In addition to forming separate and smaller Baby Bells it opened the door to independent phone companies. And I knew that was a big mistake when in Arizona I stopped at a phone booth to call California. When the call wouldn't go through I dialed the operator and was stunned to hear, "I'm sorry sir, we don't go there."

Today when 911 calls make news they are sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes funny, and sometimes they make me angry. I realize dispatching on the 911 level must call for the patience of Jobe and surely they need tongue tied callers to get to the point, but there is often that condescending tone that comes through. One thing we overlook is many people simply can't operate on whatever the expected level happens to be. And we (society wide) too readily write those folks off. So in reality before the 911 system implodes any further it needs some kind of buffer system. And I think the answer is simple. Bring back Aunt Rose . . .

NickD :D

EMT-B

Phlebotomist

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Going back to Cujo for a minute:

OK, no discharging a firearm within city limits, as I got the same law here in New York City. What about a bow and arrow, or a crossbow?

Nope, can't do that either, even with the dog committing the crime, it's cruelty to animals.

While I don't know if calling 9-1-1 was the correct action, I think I might side with calling the LEO precinct house, trooper's barracks, or sheriff's office instead.

I'd flip back to the 9-1-1 call if you felt the dog might force entry to your home, and do someone a world of hurt, in the confines thereof.

I was not there, so I am unable to make the judgement call here.

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But it took almost thirty years before it was truly in place. And what finally pushed it into existence was the government forced break-up of AT&T in the early 1980s. In addition to forming separate and smaller Baby Bells it opened the door to independent phone companies.

Interesting, thanks for the brief history lesson. AT&T was THE phone company then and had to be orderd to stand down? Never knew that, but I do believe (correct me if Im wrong) they are trying to take back the world again. People keep saying its ganna happen too. I dunno, Im not huge on following corporate polotics. I guess I should be though cuz I have Verizon and the network.

~~~

Oh, as far as Cujo is concerned... crowbar, just keep it silent.

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