911 Calls in Chattanooga Go Unanswered

[StanSwitek]

911 Calls in Chattanooga Go Unanswered
By BILL POOVEY, AP

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (March 24) - Thousands of calls to Chattanooga's 911 call center have been going unanswered, according to records examined after a caller was unable to report a kitchen fire because three of four dispatchers were taking breaks at the same time.



George Widman, AP
911 dispatchers, like these in a Pennsylvania call center, pass emergency information along to police, firefighters or emergency medical services.


Stacey Hunter and her family members called 911 from her home phone and cellular phones Monday afternoon when the fire broke out, but the calls went unanswered. Finally, Artterius Bonds, and 14-year-old nephew, Quayshaune Fountain, ended up running a half mile to get help from the fire station. No one was hurt.

"If they hadn't gone running, my house would have completely burned up," Hunter, 34, said as she stood in her scorched kitchen.

Chattanooga Police Chief Steve Parks, who oversees employees of the Hamilton County Emergency Communications District, said the department was responsible for the unanswered calls.

One dispatcher was taking calls and three others working the shift were taking a break, the chief said. He described the situation as an unacceptable failure of the 911 system.

But records indicate the problem is more widespread.

During one 10-month period, from January to October 2005, about 27,000 calls to city dispatchers at the 911 center went unanswered, police spokesman Tetzell Tillery said. Last month 20 percent - about 2,000 - of more than 10,650 calls placed were not answered, he said.


"You've got four people supposed to be dispatching and three people on break. I can't still digest that."
-- Stacey Hunter, 34

"We have a responsibility to staff it to a level that makes it work, 24-7."
-- Sally Robinson, Chattanooga City Council chair

"I just don't trust them."
-- Hoyt Branham, 70

Source: AP

Officials said the count includes numerous caller hang-ups and repeated calls.

On Monday, records show there were 22 unanswered calls to the 911 service in the 27-minute period when the fire was burning. Six came from Hunter's residence.

"You've got four people supposed to be dispatching and three people on break. I can't still digest that," Hunter said.

Police said there are 68 communications positions, with two added in the last fiscal year, and the center needs 78 people to be fully staffed.

The call center's oversight board said they would commission a study aimed at possibly reorganizing and consolidating call taking. The board chairman, Hamilton County Sheriff John Cupp, said "there is a shortage of personnel and a lot of times when there is a shortage of personnel you have problems organizing things."

County commissioners and City Council members said unanswered calls were unacceptable and would be corrected. Sally Robinson, chairman of the Chattanooga City Council, said she did not realize so many calls were being missed.

"We have a responsibility to staff it to a level that makes it work, 24-7," Robinson said.

Not everyone agrees there is a staffing problem, however.

Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield said the 911 call center has the "resources they need" and should have had more people on when Hunter's call was not answered.

The Tennessee Emergency Communications Board may ask to hear from representatives of the Hamilton County district if there is a problem with service, said Lynn Quistel, the board's executive director.

But staffing issues are a local matter, she said. Local oversight boards determine staffing levels and are not required to provide backup rollover numbers.


Patrick Halley, a spokesman for Washington, D.C.-based National Emergency Numbers Association, said there are more than 6,100 911 call centers across the country and there is "no national standard as far as how long it should take" to answer a call.

The Chattanooga call center has had other problems.

Hoyt Branham, who lives in northern Hamilton County, said that in October 2004 he severed an artery in his arm while working in his shop. He called 911 in Chattanooga, told them he was bleeding profusely and provided his location. But no one showed up.

Branham, 70, said he was alone and getting weak, so he called neighbors and his daughter ended up taking him to the hospital. He said 911 operators later denied that he called, but a review of their recording equipment showed he did.

"I just don't trust them," Branham said.

[Indy]

Wow

I'm trying really hard to withhold comments on the state of many female dispatchers and their eating habits, but suffice to say, I'm not in the least bit surprised.

[StanSwitek]

Are you implying many departments hire dispatchers by the pound from the pound?

[Indy]

Are you implying many departments hire dispatchers by the pound from the pound?

Of course not...










...it's by far cheaper to get them from an auction before the meat buyers snap 'em all up.

[Terminator]

Wow

[Ducky]

Damn, do they think they work for the DMV or what??

[cntryboy0531]

I had a dispatcher screwup BIG TIME on me last week. She dispatched a domestic battery call to me over the radio since me and my STI was out of the car with the Sgt talking with him. I took the call, and the dispatcher said it was passed occured, and assigned a medium priority to it. Sgt told us to hang tight, he needed to finish gathering some information from us.. I went out to my car TEN MINUTES LATER, and looked on the CAD screen and it said "subject still at the residence, yelling/screaming." I hop out of the car, tell my STI what's up, and only THEN did the dispatcher come over the air and ask us for our ETA.... so, we run lights and sirens over there and get the situation under control.

So considering the experiances i've had with dispatchers so far, this story doesn't surprise me.