The video 'Closet' was produced by E-Comm to encourage the public to be more mindful of 9-1-1 etiquette.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/E-Comm
July 24, 2022 - 9:00 PM
One fifth of 9-1-1 calls in B.C. are made by accident, and many of those callers don't even say hello.
E-Comm, the province’s emergency dispatch service, released a statement to show nearly 20% of all calls are dialled mistakenly.
“During each shift, a significant number of calls I receive on the emergency lines are misdials or hang-ups from people who have accidentally called 9-1-1,” call taker Roanne said in the release. Her last name was not given.
“Some pocket dials are obvious – we can hear people having fun, singing along to music while they’re driving or cheering at sporting events. But we still need to take the time to call people back and confirm there isn’t an emergency happening.”
The public is reminded that needlessly tying up emergency phone lines takes away critical resources from people in emergencies.
But pocket dials and accidental calls are inevitable. When they do happen, the call takers appreciate when the person on the other lets them know is was a mistake.
“Many times, people don’t even realize that they’ve called us by mistake and when they do, they instinctively hang up the phone,” another call taker said.
“If you call 9-1-1 by accident, please don’t hang up. As our videos illustrate, sometimes it can be difficult to know if what we’re hearing on the other end of the line is an emergency situation or a misdial. The important thing is to stay on the line and let us know so that we can ensure you are safe.”
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