“Daisy”, our newest K9, visits us during a slow moment in dispatch. Until she’s trained, her primary attack form will be licking people into submission.
Which way did he go, George? Which way did he go?
November 8, 2012
9-1-1, commentary 9-1-1, 9-1-1 stories, dispatcher stories, prowler calls Leave a comment
Sometimes you just can’t tell who will be able to convey information to you and who will not. Disregarding folks who are new to an area, or just visiting, there’s still a huge number of people, or so it seems sometimes, who simply don’t know the basics about where they are, and which way is up.
Well, I suppose they can figure out which way is up, but trying to get north, east, south, or west out of them is like pulling those proverbial teeth out of those proverbial hens. Some folks just have no clue.
Now, they’ll tell us it’s “to the left”, but, really…. that doesn’t help. Turn around and your “left” is now the opposite direction! And telling me that it’s now to your right won’t improve the situation!
You guessed it… another 9-1-1 caller without a clue, calling in on a cell phone. No idea of the address of the house they live in, no idea which way east is, and unclear on what “get a piece of mail and read me the address” means.
It’s most annoying when they get mad at US for not knowing where THEY are! I want to reach through that phone and slap them silly. That’s probably why that particular feature is not activated on our systems. Part of our job is protecting the public. Even from us! 😉 Kidding! (sort of)
“I say.. I say… dial 9-1-1, son. Quickly, now…”
August 3, 2012
9-1-1, commentary, Humor, Personal animal humor, chicken dials 9-1-1, dispatcher stories, Post by Voice Leave a comment
(That title should be read in the voice of Foghorn Leghorn)
You never know what you’ll hear on the other end of a 9-1-1 call. Here’s one I took the other night.
Now, this came in from a disconnected cell phone, so there was no way to pin-point it’s location, and no way to call it back.
Fortunately, these chickens sounded Code 4 (no assistance needed) to my ear, so I’m not real concerned about their status. (the voices you hear are background noises in the dispatch center, picked up when I transferred the recording to my phone. The call was only clucking.)
When I was a kid, we raised some chickens, and I learned the difference between contented clucking, and panic clucking. This sounds like contented clucking, to me.
This was a first. I’ve never taken a 9-1-1 call, even an accidental one, from a chicken before. I’ve heard stories of cats and dogs calling 9-1-1 during actual emergencies, but I haven’t experienced that. Maybe that’s something for the future.
Cluck cluck.
A time warp is the only explanation…
May 22, 2012
9-1-1, commentary, Personal barricaded suspect, computer failure, crazy, dispatcher stories, homicide, time warp Leave a comment
The calendar said it was Monday. My phone said it was Monday. The newspaper said it was Monday. Tulare County seemed to think it was Friday. Friday of a full Moon. On a Friday the 13th.
It started off quietly enough. A nice staffing level, not much going on, things running fairly smoothly. A nice, calm, reasonable Monday at 9-1-1. The officers and deputies were all out getting into their routines, as Mondays are generally the beginnings of work weeks for them. Some subpoenas to be served, maybe a warrant or two, and informants to be talked to, in order to glean intel over events that occurred on the weekend. We were settling in there in dispatch, looking forward to sedate work shift. We should have known better. Just when you think it’s all good…
“WHO SHOT YOUR MOTHER??”
That’s the phrase that led our descent into chaos, nearly shouted by the Duty Officer, on a 9-1-1 call…
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week April 8-14, 2012
April 13, 2012
9-1-1, commentary, Personal 9-1-1, 911, dispatcher, dispatcher stories, emergency services, National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week Leave a comment
By Chief Thomas Wagoner
Loveland (Colo.) Police Department
Someone once asked me if I thought that answering telephones for a living was a profession. I said, “I thought it was a calling.”
And so is dispatching. I have found in my law enforcement career that dispatchers are the unsung heroes of public safety. They miss the excitement of riding in a speeding car with lights flashing and sirens wailing. They can only hear of the bright orange flames leaping from a burning building. They do not get to see the joy on the face of worried parents as they see their child begin breathing on its own, after it has been given CPR.
Dispatchers sit in darkened rooms looking at computer screens and talking to voices from faces they never see. It’s like reading a lot of books, but only half of each one.
Dispatchers connect the anxious conversations of terrified victims, angry informants, suicidal citizens and grouchy officers. They are the calming influence of all of them-the quiet, competent voices in the night that provide the pillars for the bridges of sanity and safety. They are expected to gather information from highly agitated people who can’t remember where they live, what their name is, or what they just saw. And then, they are to calmly provide all that information to the officers, firefighters, or paramedics without error the first time and every time.
End of vacation
April 13, 2012
9-1-1, commentary, Personal 9-1-1, dispatcher stories, vacation, work Leave a comment
Well, technically, the vacation ended yesterday. With my regular days off, I go back to work Monday. Hope I remember how to tell them where to go!
At first we thought it was the ghost dialing 9-1-1…
February 6, 2012
Personal 9-1-1 calls, dispatcher stories, meth lab Leave a comment
The place was locked up and appeared secure when the first unit arrived that afternoon to check out the call to 9-1-1. Since nothing seemed amiss, and there was nothing to suggest someone was inside who needed help, the Deputy cleared and left.
That evening, it happened again. In both instances, the 9-1-1 call was just static, with no one speaking. The 9-1-1 screen also indicated “Quick Dial Tone”, which means the line has been disconnected, and it’s not possible to call it back. These lines can ‘glitch’ in certain circumstances, and that glitch gets sent to 9-1-1. It’s particularly common during wet weather.
The evening shift Deputy went to check again, and this time found an open sliding glass door in the back. He told us he was going to check the residence. After a few minutes, he called for another deputy to respond, and for the sergeant. We immediately assumed he had found a body in the house. Turns out that’s not what happened.
People in our professions often develop a black humor, in order to deal with the stresses of the job. While we were getting other units responding, we were joking that the deputy had found a body, and the ghost had dialed 9-1-1, twice, and that it might not be too happy that it took two calls to get results!
Well, it turns out it wasn’t a dead body, after all. There is one important lesson to be learned here, however. When you rent some run down house out in the middle of nowhere, go ahead and hook up the phone line. Pay the few bucks a month to have a working line. That way, the phone line won’t ‘glitch’, and the cops won’t come out and find your meth lab.
JimmieJoe / KC6YRU 
They finally made a movie about a dispatcher. This could be bad.
March 8, 2013
Jim Reeves 9-1-1, commentary 9-1-1, ambulance, dispatch centers, dispatcher stories, fire, Halle Berry, police, sheriff, The Call Leave a comment
So I’ve seen the promos at the theater. A lot of the background looks realistic, the situation has happened before. What I’m not to sure about is the idea that she gets involved in a call. “This one made it personal”. I’m hoping for the best. It is Hollywood, so there’s no telling what will happen. Just remember, it’s only a movie! (unless it’s really, really good. Then it’s exactly like our center, and we’re all heroes like Halle Berry.)
Want the picture with YOUR jurisdiction in the map background? Here.
Share this: