9-1-1….Please Hold
Posted by: From Arkansas in Are You Kidding Me?, It's A Rant, Shame of America on Feb 14 2008
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The woman called into 9-1-1 because she had an emergency. That’s what 9-1-1 is for although many people do not use it that way. But this Pennsylvania woman was in deep trouble. She was a disabled person who could not get out of bed. Her bed was on fire. She was desperate for someone to care about that. We do not know why she was alone in the house but we do know that she could have had help if the operator had only cared.
The operator heartlessly put her on hold. Those moments on hold were what eventually took her life. He did not seem to care that she was in trouble at all. The woman operator that eventually came back on spoke to the woman for a few brief moments and then she was gone. Her life was over because of incompetence.
Officials say that they are suspending the people involved and retraining. Are you kidding me?? Surely the person who put her on hold should at the least be charged with involuntary manslaughter. That was so inhumane, so incredibly stupid that this blog is awarding the SHAME OF AMERICA AWARD to the operator who allowed that woman to burn to death in her bed.
EDIT NOTE: Before I get anymore flames from people who think I am wrong to write about this, I want you to know that I have all the respect in the world for those emergency operators that do go above and beyond their basic guidelines. They are the ones who are the unsung heroes! Yet, they are not the only ones who man the emergency lines. There are others who, for whatever reason, are there because it’s a job, nothing more.
Humanity is defined as “I am sorry” and mean it. It is not defined as “I am sorry but”. There is no excuse for excuses.
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2 Comments
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I’m a 911 operator and you’re so ignorant I cannot begin to say.
I’m sorry that lady died it’s horrible but on the other hand I know why she got put on hold. The guy was probably swamped with ten year olds playing with the phone and since we’re not allowed to tell obvious pranksters to go eff them selves.
But hey, what the heck. You’re the genius, you know everything, you’re always right.
I am sorry if this hits you wrong but 911 is not perfect. I am well aware of the good that operators do. I have heard the stories for that when someone’s life is saved due to the diligence of an operator that usually is going above and beyond their jobs.
However, having said that, there are operators out there that simply do not care a bit. Tell me, if you had heard that the person was IN a fire and needed help, could you put her on HOLD while you talked to someone else? I could not do that.
And this is something YOU need to see. The supervisor of those people have them on suspension and the whole group are going into RETRAINING. That right there means that there was a problem. So, you might want to step down from your high horse for a bit and see that those people who were operators WERE at fault. They need to get a clue that they did a horrible thing.
I am not a genius but I do understand right and wrong. No, I am not always right but you are coming to me with attitude that does not help anything. Yes, I DO understand that you get swamped with calls that do not need to happen. That comes under the heading of someone needs to start tracking those kids down and have them arrested for playing on the phone.
In the meanwhile, I am speaking from the point of a disabled person who just learned about a DISABLED person who was for all intents and purposes IGNORED while she burned to death. I think I have a right to my opinion. And that’s what my blog is here for….my opinion!!!