911 Experiences

[Doug]

One of our members passed out at church last Thursday night.
911 was called and it took five minutes to talk to someone and get help on the way.
It wasn't clear whether it took five minutes of ringing to get an answer or they were put on hold for five minutes.
I know many people consider 911 to be next to worthless, but is this kind of delay common?

Please report only those experiences you have good reason to believe are true.

 

[bobbittle]

The last time I called (2011 I think) I was talking to a real person in under 15 seconds, and had 2 sheriffs, 1 ambulance, and 1 fire engine on scene in ~ 8 minutes.

Edit: This was Hendricks County, ~ 5 miles west of Danville on US36.

 

[SaintsNSinners]

Every time I call metro non emergency it takes ages for someone to answer.

called 911 once and no one picked up

 

[Doug]

This was the west side of Indianapolis and they called on a cell phone.
I don't know which 911 picked up, but whoever it was, they ended up sending 7 people.

 

[45calibre]

i used to work at a bank that had a drive through with a view of a somewhat busy street. they was an accident and one of the women that worked there called 911 to report it. the line was busy. we received a call back the next day asking if someone called 911.

 

[forgop]

I've only called 911 once. I called around 4am NYD to report a drunk driver. Call was answered immediately and dispatcher had a cop on his tail within 15 min of the driver driving of the road, several near head-on collisions, and a series of u-turns made for me to report his whereabouts.

 

[stephen87]

I've called twice and been patched through immediately. The only other time I was around for a 911 call, paramedics and fire crews took about 10 minutes to respond. I'm unsure if it was because a bystander called for us or because the chief was about 10 cars back from the accident.

 

[Tactical Dave]

I have had someone answer after like 2 rings and after around 8... All in Indy, non emergency is a different story... But it is non emergency so you can wait haha.

 

[Lammchop93]

One time I accidently set off my house alarm and it took the police 15 minutes before they showed up.

 

[88GT]

I've called 9-1-1 for

...my suburban catching fire
...the guy driving without his lights on around 465 at 11pm
...the guy hopped up on Xanax driving in the on-coming traffic lane (he eventually caused a crash, which I rolled up on about 15 seconds after it happened; still wish that bastage had made it over the bridge's guard rail)
...my neighbors' house alarm going off while they were snow-bunnying in FL
...the guy peeping into the house I had listed while I was there after dark
...my tenant's boyfriend was slicing and dicing (Mr88GT called 9-1-1 while I was on the phone with her)
...being t-boned by the drunk
...when Mr88GT t-boned the Caddy

That's all I can remember. Every time I got an answer within a few seconds. Response time has been pretty good when I am still there to see. The actual response has left a lot to be desired a few times though.

 

[Cpl. Klinger]

In order from best to worst:
Bloomington PD/Monroe Cty Sheriff (in the summer): those boys are bored and jump to get a call. On the phone in less than 3 rings, someone at the store within 3 minutes each time.

Bloomington PD/Monroe Cty Sheriff (in the winter): still only 2-3 rings, on scene in less than 8 minutes.

Johnson Cty. Sheriff: 2-3 rings (on the dispatch number even), on scene within 10-12 minutes

IMPD: better off calling the National Guard. Sometimes you'd wait 5 minutes to talk to someone, then 15-30 minutes for an officer. I waited an hour once.

 

[phylodog]

IMPD: better off calling the National Guard. Sometimes you'd wait 5 minutes to talk to someone, then 15-30 minutes for an officer. I waited an hour once.

I can assure you the 911 operators aren't sitting back drinking coffee and letting the phones ring unanswered. The system can only handle so much. When demand outpaces supply, reduced demand or increased supply are the only cures. The politicians have control over the supply and they are elected to represent you and look out for you best interests. Apparently a new, improved, $700,000,000,000,000,000.00 public transportation system is more important right now.

 

[MikeDVB]

Out of the couple of dozen times I've called 911 over my life for everything from reporting drunk drivers, calling in auto accidents, and other issues - I've been put on hold 3 or 4 times in an automatic fashion where I wasn't even able to say anything to a person first.

 

[bluewraith]

Called going around 465 for a semi that tried to run me off the road. Ended up getting transferred 3 different times before they found the right agency who covers that stretch of road.

In Kokomo, I've called twice. One or two rings is the norm I guess.
Once to report shots fired near apartment complex, unknown time on response.
Another time to report some loon in a UHaul doing burnouts in the grass in front of my (city zoned) apartment. Transfered to County dispatch (they are in the same building.. same room even) and then it took about 15 minutes before someone showed up. (Emergency used instead of non due to excessive yelling and drunkenness)

As a side note, if you back your UHaul into a ditch, you won't be able to drive out once you load it down, no matter how long you spin the tires. You *will* bury it up to the axle though.

 

[MikeDVB]

As a side note, if you back your UHaul into a ditch, you won't be able to drive out once you load it down, no matter how long you spin the tires. You *will* bury it up to the axle though.

Some smart people, for sure .

 

[JokerGirl]

I'm in a weird spot because I'm on three county lines and not necessarily a part of an incorporated town.

I had to laugh this last summer when I called dispatch over some random losers sleeping in my yard at 2pm in the afternoon.

I called Whitestown dispatch, and surprise, surprise Boone County Sheriff shows up out here. Pretty funny considering Whitestown seems to have no problem patrolling through here and giving out tickets despite it being considered Zionsville. Yet, when you need someone to be here in a reasonable amount of time, they pawn you off on someone else. It took about 20 minutes for two Sheriffs cars to show up.

Only time I've actually dialed 911 was when my previous work in Zionsville had been broken into overnight, and I was the first one to find the mess at 6am. It was expedient with ZPD showing up a couple of minutes later.

 

[AnnieO]

I have never had to wait to talk to someone. Didn't realize it was so bad some places.

My grandmother was a dispatcher in a very small town. She always read at work because she hardly got any calls!

 

[AD Marc]

It all comes down to the number of call takers and the call volume. Sometimes you have to wait. The number of call takers on duty is generally based on expected call volume, not the theoretical maximum call volume. When calling in to report things occurring in public places such as car accidents, remember that several people may be calling in the same accident and each one is getting a different call taker. It can burden the system, but clearly, you should never assume someone else called in the case of an emergency.

 

[mcolford]

Cass County has a great response time. Ive called a couple times, and had immediate answers, immediate response.

Its too often the public hears of the mess in Indy with their 911-Dispatch center being a mess.

 

[eldirector]

911 in Hendricks County (witnessed a serious crash) - answered within a couple of rings, and had LE and medic there in 6 minutes.

911 in Marion County (guy drove into Eagle Creek Res.) - answered in a couple of rings, and had folks on-scene in about 5 minutes.

5 minutes is a LONG time when someone is dying.