911 dispatchers release their list of the top 10 most absurd ‘emergency’ calls of 2013

[Grapefruits]

funny but brutal at the same time. You would think people would know that 911 is for EMERGENCIES only.

Some people

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Most people know that if your alarm clock is broken, it’s probably not a good idea to call 911 and ask for a wake-up call.

For those who don’t know, E-Comm, the regional emergency communication centre for southwest B.C., has released its Top 10 most absurd reasons to call the emergency line, with the goal of drawing attention to nuisance calls.

More than 2,500 911 calls go through E-Comm each day. Although the vast majority of those calls are for a police, fire or medical emergency that requires an immediate response, a surprising number are nuisance calls.

“Our teams are dedicated to helping to save lives and protect property. For them, having someone call 911 to ask for the time of day is exasperating,” said E-Comm spokesperson Jody Robertson.

E-Comm tweets its “911 head scratchers” every Friday and the Top 10 list was compiled based on Twitter response from followers and input from staff.

Here are the calls:

1. “I’d like to speak to someone about renting a fire truck to block off a street for a party.”

2. A caller phoned 911 to get their date’s contact information so they could confirm details of their plans.

3. A caller phoned 911 to report a missed newspaper delivery.

4. Caller asks 911 if they can get the OK to drive in the HOV lane because “traffic is backed up and they are late for an important meeting.”

5. Caller dials 911 to activate voice mail on his cellphone.

6. “I threw my phone into the garbage can and can’t get it out.”

7. Caller dials 911 to ask for a morning wake-up call.

8. Caller dials 911 to ask how to call the operator.

9. “Can an officer come over to tell my kids to go to bed?”

10. “My son won’t give me the remote control.”

Call taker Matthew Collins answered the 911 call asking for information about renting a fire truck for a street party.

“What people don’t realize is that when they call 911 for information or any other reason that is not an emergency, they’re tying up valuable resources that are meant to be at the ready for people who are in serious need of help,” said Collins.

http://www.theprovin...4908/story.html

[Gabes24]

lol some people.... working at a hotel in richmond, I had a guest from an asian tour group last month call 911 because they couldn't turn the tap off.. FFS people. Common sense is definitely a rare commodity these days.

[Tortorella's Rant]

lol #4 is the most legit. The rest are utterly retarded.

[c00kies]

Police not= google.

[hudson bay rules]

I once dialed them by mistake.

I was on a multi- line phone at a new job and was having trouble dialing out. Well, between the number I wanted and having no luck I figured I needed to choose a number to get an outside line. Was it 9 to get out or did I need line 1 etc etc? Anyways, I called them by mistake and then said that I was sorry and hung up. They called me back thinking I might have been a hostage or something but I was extremely busy so I was short with them and hung up on them again. They called me right back yet again and asked to speak to someone else to prove that everything was fine before they would give up.

I love this country,

[AppleJack]

My old cell phone used to automatically call them all the time- once this happened in the states so I hung up cause ROAMING fees - the women called me back and asked if I was okay. I said sorry i misdialed and was cdn and sorry and hung up and then they called me back again to yell at me for hanging up on them twice. I was kind of annoyed but owned up for my own mistake.c

The only other time I had to call 911 was during the celebration of lights- There was this young girl screaming for help as this guy was dragging her away from the crowd. It looks rather suspicous. It turned out it was the girls father and she was being a brat but I still don't regret calling because of the off chance it had been more serious.

I think a lot of people forget that there is an actual non emergency number that you could call if you need the police and its not life threating.

[Offensive Threat]

Some people are the opposite. My Mom was at home alone and was having chest pains so she called me. I told her to hang up and immediately call 911. She was asking for the non emergency number...I had to yell at her so she finally agreed to. Long story short she got the immediate response from the paramedics she needed and is on blood pressure medication, watching what she eats and fine now.

[ilduce39]

I hope the parenting stuff was reported to the mcfd.. either for being stupid enough to think it's a funny joke or helpless enough to dial 911 for help.

[Danthecanucksfan]

lol #4 is the most legit. The rest are utterly retarded.

Lol how the hell is #4 "most legit", they are all an absolute joke.

[thad]

Lol how the hell is #4 "most legit", they are all an absolute joke.

He was late and the meeting was important

[Tortorella's Rant]

Lol how the hell is #4 "most legit", they are all an absolute joke.

At least he asked if it was okay first instead of just doing it

[D-Money]

#10 is the best.

I mean, get up and change the channel, fatty!

[Absent Canuck]

The son trying to hog the remote control could get him sent to juvvie.

I would bust his ass .

[NightHawkSniper]

#10 is the best.

I mean, get up and change the channel, fatty!

To think how even more funny this is they probably had to get up and get the home phone to call 911

[The Bookie]

I read one of these lists last year. Funniest was a lady who called 911 cause nobody was buying the stuff she posted for sale on craigslist

[nucklehead]

Before taking any info the dispatchers need to take all the callers information and then people should billed for any abuse the commit after that. The technology exists to even just bill the owner of the number so it shouldn't be that hard. That would cut it down a lot.

[etsen3]

Before taking any info the dispatchers need to take all the callers information and then people should billed for any abuse the commit after that. The technology exists to even just bill the owner of the number so it shouldn't be that hard. That would cut it down a lot.

If it's an emergency they won't exactly have time to be asking for their name/email address/service provider/phone number/address etc.

[rosalie52]

11. "Did the Canucks win last night?" It's an important thing to know but to call an emergency service to get the result of a hockey game? Hmmm...

[The Colt 45s]

I have worked as a 911 dispatcher. Tough job. My favorite calls were baby mamas calling to complaint about their baby daddies. They were downright hilarious.

[The Colt 45s]

Because we have to answer every call and call back every hang up, one thing 911 dispatchers hate are repeated booty calls. Please do not program 9-1-1 into speed dial and then walk around with your phone unlocked in your pocket. But if you are going to, make sure you have at least vibrate on. I cannot tell the amount of times where I had to sit listening to someone walking around with their phone on trying to discern if it was an emergency or just a booty call, and then have them call another 15-20 times an hour while having to return their calls every time. After all, you would be surprised if a bunch of cops swarmed on you because we pinged your phone and sent the cops to make sure you are okay.