The other day I passed by a car accident in which a girl was trapped inside and struggling to get out. I called 9-1-1 and experienced something that has happened to me MANY times before. I had to sit on hold for nearly 8 minutes before anyone picked up. Then another 3 minutes to talk to someone who could help. Then another 7 minutes (which was pretty fast) before the LAFD arrived and 15 minutes before paramedics or police arrived. That’s 28 minutes in total.
If that person would have been choking, drowning, bleeding, etc. they would have been dead. I thought about it for a moment, and realized many others around me were on their phone, so maybe the lines were just jammed. WRONG. The lines are always jammed. In another instance where someone I knew was choking I dialed 911 (as if they would ever get there in time) and to my amazement it took over 20 minutes for the operator to pick up. Luckily the chokee had recovered, but I stayed on the line out of pure curiosity (probably not helping the blocked line issue).
So I researched to find out, who it is that is filling up all these lines with emergencies. How many accidents a day could their be? And were they REALLY emergencies? The LAFD must have heard me because recently they posted a list of the top 20 reasons why paramedics have to report to the average 800 phone calls they receive a day. Here is the list of why people call 9-1-1:
What brings LAFD Paramedics to your Neighborhood?
- Breathing Problems: 98 incidents per day
- Traffic Accidents: 97 incidents per day
- Unknown Problem: 75 incidents per day
- Sick Person: 68 incidents per day
- Falls: 67 incidents per day
- Unconscious/Fainting: 62 incidents per day
- Chest Pain: 60 incidents per day
- Assault: 49 incidents per day
- Convulsions/Seizures: 36 incidents per day
- Traumatic Injuries: 32 incidents per day
- Diabetic Problems: 24 incidents per day
- Abdominal Pain: 24 incidents per day
- Hemorrhage/Lacerations: 22 incidents per day
- Overdose/Poisoning: 20 incidents per day
- Cardiac Arrest/Death: 14 incidents per day
- Stroke: 13 incidents per day
- Stabbing/Gunshot: 12 incidents per day
- Heart Problems: 10 incidents per day
- Psychiatric/Suicide Attempt: 9 incidents per day
- Pregnancy/Childbirth: 8 incidents per day
They also state “No matter the nature of your emergency, when life hangs in the balance in Los Angeles, never delay in calling 9-1-1!”
But please keep in mind that there are many others trying to get through, so if it’s not a real emergency, stay off the damn line and call your doctor!
2 responses so far ↓
1 Brian Humphrey // Mar 15, 2008 at 10:43 am
Mali,
Kindly accept our apologies for any inconvenience you may have experienced in seeking help for the young lady involved in the traffic collision.
While it may not rid your frustration, please know that LAFD Dispatchers are working as hard as possible around-the-clock to address the many emergency needs of 9-1-1 callers - - and as you mention, improperly routed non-emergency requests, questions, suggestions and statements offered by those who should truly not be calling 9-1-1.
I will be pleased to look more closely into the incident you mention, so as to determine what actual or perceived delays were the responsibility of my LAFD colleagues, and which might be attributed to the others often ‘upstream’ from our agency (LAPD, CHP, etc.) in the handling of some 9-1-1 calls.
Please do contact me with the date, time, location of the emergency at your earliest convenience. My e-mail contact information is available to you from this comment form, or you may contact me through the City’s toll-free 3-1-1 system or by calling the LAFD Business Line at (213) 485-5971.
In closing, please accept our thanks for your willingness to summon help for someone in need.
Oh… and that LAFD blog post was a planned article that only listed our Top 20 reasons for *EMS* response. It is as you might imagine, just a fraction of what keeps us busy every hour of every day.
Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,
Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department
2 Mali // Mar 16, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Brian,
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond!
I understand the LAFD works extremely hard every day. The LAFD has come to my aid a number of times and not only did they save the day, but they were assertive, understanding, and kind all at the same time.
My problem is not with the LAFD, it’s with the phone lines. It’s not your fault that it takes you ten minutes to get to an accident when it took 8 minutes for the call to go through. Maybe they need more phone lines? Or more operators? More funding? I don’t know, as I said I’ve been trying to research and have come up with very little which is why I was so impressed with your response on the site!
Is there a common reason why the lines are usually jammed? Are their any tips or pieces of advice you could offer people about dialing 9-1-1?
Again, thank you for your reply!
Mali
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