911 operator"This is 911…"
Is it a fire? A heart attack?
911 operator"What's your emergency?"
911 dispatchers must get the facts and send help instantly.
Officer Scott Duffany, Gloucester Police Department "We got a 911 call from here. Is everything okay?"
Every second counts.
Cheryl Bond, Everett 911 Dispatcher"911 is for strictly life and death emergencies."
But listen to this 911 call"I'm a pure vegetarian and they just gave me a beef taco."
And this
"She wants a beer, can you bring her a beer?"
Our investigation found–across Massachusetts–real emergencies may be waiting–As 911 operators handle absurd requests and junk calls.
911 call"He has my fridge, and I want it back."
The bogus calls clog the system and steal resources.
John Grossman Director, Undersecretary MA Executive Office of Public Safety "Any time you're taking a 911 call taker away from answering an emergency call, that's a serious problem and could put you in danger."
Richard Mattioli, Southboro Police Department"People's lives are on the line here."
But we found:
911 callers who want directions:
911 caller"I'm over here on um, off of highway 16…"
Complain about purchases:
911 caller"I bought a pack of cookies, there's cookies missing out of it."
Discuss their finances:
911 caller"I was unable to pay my bill for the past couple of months and I wanted to let you know why.."
Some centers told us one out of three calls are not real emergencies!
Time ticks by and lines stay busy as dispatchers deal with the ridiculous.
911 caller"There's a lot of bugs at Fenway and they need to be exterminated."
But here's what has 911 teams even more outraged.
911 dispatcher"911 what's your emergency?"
We found 911 centers in the front lines of protecting the public are getting calls from telemarketers. Listen to this:
Telemarketer call"Hello we are seeking business owners who are interested in receiving free grant money."
Here in Everett they get 40 a week!
Telemarketer call "The factory warranty on your vehicle has expired…"
Frustrated dispatchers told us, they don't know how to stop the calls.
Cheryl Bond, Everett 911 Dispatcher "So far we have not had any luck"
We took our findings to the official in charge of the states 911 system.
John Grossman Director, Undersecretary MA Executive Office of Public Safety "I only heard about that frankly when you raised it with me…"
As a result of our research–state officials have now launched an investigation of their own.
John Grossman Director, Undersecretary MA Executive Office of Public Safety "Anytime 911 is clogged up the any kind of inappropriate call including telemarketing that's unacceptable and that's putting all of us at some degree of risk."
A brand new state law makes intentional non-emergency 911 calls a crime, punishable by jail time and big fines. But so far, no one has been prosecuted.
If you call 911 by mistake, don't hang up! Explain to the dispatcher your call was in error. Most departments do send a police officer over just to make sure there is not a real emergency.(Copyright (c) 2008 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)