Emergency dispatch fiasco points to flaws in 911 procedures

Frontiersman editorial board

You've seen it in comedy films. Someone calls dials "911," and a nasaly dispatch voice says, "Thank you for calling 9-1-1 emergency dispatch. All of our operators are currently away from their desks or on other lines. Your call is very important to us …"

It's funny when you're sitting in a climate-controlled cinema, but when you're standing in front of a serious accident, and a motorist is trapped inside a smoking vehicle, it's no laughing matter. When you've made the decision to push those three buttons, the response on the other end goes way beyond what could be described as customer service. It's life and death, and every second matters.

On Wednesday, Loe Schrader of Wasilla found himself in a situation similar to the one described above. He'd come across a truck roll-over on Knik-Goose Bay Road. The truck was still running, and it's spinning wheel was making a lot of smoke. Because part of KGB is geographically close to Anchorage, Schrader's 911 cellular phone call was picked up by emergency dispatch in Anchorage. The Anchorage dispatch operator, contrary to policy, gave Schrader the non-emergency number for the Wasilla Consolidated Dispatch Center, failing to patch Schrader through directly. 911 calls in the Valley are not handled by Wasilla dispatch, anyway.

When Schrader dialed the Wasilla number, he was told emergency calls in the Mat-Su are handled in Palmer. Schrader said the Wasilla dispatcher then gave him the non-emergency number for Palmer dispatch, again not patching him through directly. Wasilla Police Chief Don Savage, however, said his dispatcher did put Schrader through.

"I don't see why she'd do anything else," Savage said. "It's a one-button operation. It's easier than giving someone a phone number." Even so, the call came into Palmer dispatch on a business line, not the emergency line.

Savage did say Wasilla dispatch has no written policy about transferring emergency calls coming in on a non-emergency line. He also said non-emergency calls are not currently recorded. There is a written record of non-emergency calls, but the entry for Schrader's call simply acknowledges the call was received, not how it was handled.

It was only a matter of minutes before Schrader was able to reach the proper dispatch center, but this still speaks to a serious problem, and we urge the three dispatch centers to work out clear protocols to ensure emergency situations are handled properly the first time.