London News, East Edition, September 29, 1976, Issue 102
by Ian Mumford
Problems with London’s two year old 911 emergency system are recently being made public by its victims.
The most recent incident involved Mrs. Earl Talbot of 383 Dieppe St. When Mrs. Talbot realized there was a fire in the downstairs of her home she immediately called 911. The telephone rang four times. It was not answered.
AGAIN
Mrs. Talbot hung up and proceeded to dial again. This time it rang three times before being answered.
The police dispatcher immediately put the call through to the fire department dispatcher. Mrs. Talbot said there was a fire at 383 Dieppe St.
Because the dispatcher was unable to clearly hear Mrs. Talbot due to shouting in the background, she asked her to spell “Dieppe”, to make sure the fire equipment would be sent to the right address.
Owen Wills, who heads up the fire department’s end of the 911 system, told the London News it is common procedure for a dispatcher to ask callers how to spell a street name.
“Because people are excited when they call in a fire, it’s important we are absolutely certain where to send fire equipment,” said Mr. Wills. “Sometimes we even ask what cross street the address of the fire is near.”
DIFFERENCE
Mrs. Talbot’s concerns were that it took so long for the call to be answered and that the dispatcher asked for the spelling of the street name.
“What difference does it make how you spell the street name, as long as you’ve got the right street,” said Mrs. Talbot in an interview.
Mrs. Talbot said her husband plans to bring this matter to the attention of the mayor and board of control. So far they haven’t had any response.
Mrs. Talbot said several of the firemen who went to her house remarked on how much trouble there had been with the 911 system.
The Dieppe Street resident praised the fire department on its swiftness to the fire once the fire equipment was dispatched.
OTHERS
Mrs. Talbot’s experience with 911 has been shared by others.
Mrs. Paul Watson, 1343 Webster St. noticed some boys throwing molitof (sic) cocktails against the K-Mart store in the Huron Plaza a year ago last spring.
The 911 system had been in operation for about a month.
Mrs. Watson called 911 and left the information, but the police and fire departments did not respond to her call.
Her husband contacted the fire department after the incident. He learned his wife’s call had been received by the police dispatcher, but had not been passed on.
INEXPERIENCE
Mr. and Mrs. Watson were told by various officials in the police department “it was just one of those things.”
The inexperience of the dispatcher was also cited as a reason for the mix-up.
Mr. and Mrs. Watson were pleased with the concern shown by the police during the investigation of the matter.
Mrs. Ralph Mills was with Mrs. Watson when the latter had used the 911 system unsuccessfully. She was very concerned at the time, especially if it had been a more serious emergency.
Mrs. Mills was also visited by several police officials. They told her they were pleased she hadn’t called Open Line to make public the incident, because it would have stunted the system in its infancy.
INTERESTED
“The police didn’t visit me just to make me happy or to shut me up. They were interested in finding out the details,” she said.
About a year and a half ago, Tony Ambrogio of Grey Street was having his car repaired at the Midas Muffler store, 1110 Florence St. A fire started under the car near the gas tank. The workmen immediately called 911 but did not get an answer. As a result, Mr. Ambrogio and the Midas employees ended up running down the street to the nearby fire station to get help.
(Unfortunately this article is incomplete as the second portion is missing)
