Re: 911:: Sell Cell Phones

[Guest guest]

At 07:47 AM 04/17/2000 -0500, Aryn re-opened this can of worms:

>Has anyone else had problems with cell phones? This morning we must have

>had 50 calls from the same cell phone. The battery must have been going out

>on it. Also, there is a local provider whos users dial us whenever they

>make a call. It gets annoying very quickly!

Don't EVEN get me started. <wild-eyed expression>

We don't know where they are (and this is a safe-to-say " in CA " statement)

and we don't get ANI except through Caller ID - so if the user has his/her

line Caller-ID blocked, that's no help, nor is it any help if the phone has

no service EXCEPT for 9-1-1. As best as is possible, we're logging the

" dead line " and " open line " wireless 9-1-1 calls - and yes, we call 'em

back if there's a phone number associated with 'em.

There are an incredible number of " self-dialed " calls - that is, calls to

9-1-1 from inside a woman's purse (Breaking News: Misplaced Keys!), from

phones in mens' shirt pockets (Ink Alert! Cap Off Pen! Film at 11!) and

from phones casually tossed into a car seat or sumpin' - (Exclusive: Kids'

Conversations During Car-Pool Excursion!) that are a real frustration when

we try to get someone's attention to ask IF they have an emergency AND if

they will " secure " their freakin' cell phone.

Many wireless subscribers' accounts include voice-mail if the phone is not

answered or is in use; we leave messages something like this:

" This is 9-1-1. Your phone called us at [time] but we have no way to tell

where you are or if you need assistance. If you DO have an emergency,

please call us back and talk to us so we can help you. If you do NOT have

an emergency, please secure you phone so it does not dial 9-1-1 again -

until you need us. "

Sounds pretty dorky, doesn't it? We actually get folks who sheepishly (or

in confusion or obnoxiously) return our calls.

Every now and then, when we make a call-back to a wireless phone, we HAVE

experienced the situation where the caller did indeed attempt a call to

9-1-1 and DOES need us. All it takes is for one of the dispatchers to get

one of these, and an Instant Convert to Making Call-Backs is created.

<grin> Up until that point, they were just frustrated with " all these

false calls on cell phones. "

Now, on a more specific point, we seem to be having a whole heck of a lot

of inadvertent 9-1-1 calls made by Nextel subscribers..... more so than

the garden-variety wireless services.

<shrugging>

Happy to be here, proud to serve.

Olmstead

Communications Supervisor

~on the Central California coastline~

" Not presumed to be an official statement of my employing agency. "

Home E-mail: mailto:gryeyes@...

http://www.gryeyes.com/

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 00-04-17 12:27:05 EDT, you write:

<< Aryn, we are getting repeated 911 calls from cell phones where you can hear

everything going on at the residence or in the car, but we receive no

response, so evidently they are hitting a programmed button or the battery

is low. We have heard some VERY interesting things.

>>

mmmm, yes, I've gotten a couple doing what couples do between the sheets; and

a " gentleman " who musta eaten a ton of beans and was, ah hem, getting some

extra gas.