Posted on 03/24/2006 6:47:39 AM PST by 300magnum
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Thousands of calls to Chattanooga's 911 call center have been going unanswered, according to records examined after a caller was unable to report a kitchen fire because three of four dispatchers were taking breaks at the same time.
Stacey Hunter and her family members called 911 from her home phone and cellular phones Monday afternoon when the fire broke out, but the calls went unanswered. Finally, Artterius Bonds, and 14-year-old nephew, Quayshaune Fountain, ended up running a half mile to get help from the fire station. No one was hurt.
"If they hadn't gone running, my house would have completely burned up," Hunter, 34, said as she stood in her scorched kitchen.
Chattanooga Police Chief Steve Parks, who oversees employees of the Hamilton County Emergency Communications District, said the department was responsible for the unanswered calls.
One dispatcher was taking calls and three others working the shift were taking a break, the chief said. He described the situation as an unacceptable failure of the 911 system.
But records indicate the problem is more widespread.
During one 10-month period, from January to October 2005, about 27,000 calls to city dispatchers at the 911 center went unanswered, police spokesman Tetzell Tillery said. Last month 20 percent — about 2,000 — of more than 10,650 calls placed were not answered, he said.
Officials said the count includes numerous caller hang-ups and repeated calls.
On Monday, records show there were 22 unanswered calls to the 911 service in the 27-minute period when the fire was burning. Six came from Hunter's residence.
"You've got four people supposed to be dispatching and three people on break. I can't still digest that," Hunter said.
The unanswered calls highlighted an ongoing shortage of call center employees, Parks said. There are 68 positions, with two added in the last fiscal year. Parks said the center needs 78 people to be fully staffed.
The call center's oversight board said they would commission a study aimed at possibly reorganizing and consolidating call taking. The board chairman, Hamilton County Sheriff John Cupp, said "there is a shortage of personnel and a lot of times when there is a shortage of personnel you have problems organizing things."
County commissioners and City Council members said unanswered calls were unacceptable and would be corrected. Sally Robinson, chairman of the Chattanooga City Council, said she did not realize so many calls were being missed.
"We have a responsibility to staff it to a level that makes it work, 24-7," Robinson said.
Not everyone agrees there is a staffing problem, however.
Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield said the 911 call center has the "resources they need" and should have had more people on when Hunter's call was not answered.
The Tennessee Emergency Communications Board may ask to hear from representatives of the Hamilton County district if there is a problem with service, said Lynn Quistel, the board's executive director.
But staffing issues are a local matter, she said. Local oversight boards determine staffing levels and are not required to provide backup rollover numbers.
Patrick Halley, a spokesman for Washington, D.C.-based National Emergency Numbers Association, said there are more than 6,100 911 call centers across the country and there is "no national standard as far as how long it should take" to answer a call.
The Chattanooga call center has had other problems.
Hoyt Branham, who lives in northern Hamilton County, said that in October 2004 he severed an artery in his arm while working in his shop. He called 911 in Chattanooga, told them he was bleeding profusely and provided his location. But no one showed up.
Branham, 70, said he was alone and getting weak, so he called neighbors and his daughter ended up taking him to the hospital. He said 911 operators later denied that he called, but a review of their recording equipment showed he did.
"I just don't trust them," Branham said.
Sounds like a new mayor is needed also.
"Dial 911 and Die", once again.
A tip passed onto me by a fire chief when my house burned years ago - if you can, have the fire number to hand and call the fire dept directly. It can save quite a bit of time.
It seemed forever until the trucks came although I was no accurate judge at the time. The chief told me the routing of the call from 911 takes longer than you think.
Gotta make sure the pampered government 'employees' get all the breaks that they're due. We certainly wouldn't to 'overwork' them.
Now now.............I'm sure the union says these people are doing a good job, but more people and more pay raises are what is needed.............. and more breaks, vacation days, sick days, etc. etc.
This is an issue of mismanagement of resources, not lack of resources. The dispatch center supervisor needs to be replaced. Anyone who allows staffing to fall to four with the number of personnel he has available is incompetent, and allowing 3/4 of the staff to be on break when below minimum staffing levels is inexcusable.
Also, it is important to correctly interpret the problem. Several years ago a call came in to 911 from someone with a thick Southern accent. The best I can interpret from newspaper articles at the time, the caller said something like, Thay za FIII goin on nex do, HURRY!! The 911 operator then sent the police to a domestic problem, when really, the fire department should have been called. The house burned down.
27,000 calls went unanswered but the mayor all clear?
In Chattanooga?? No that won't help. I have never seen such a corrupt city unless it was East St. Louis.
What is needed here is for the FBI to come in here and clean this place out. Oh wait they do that daily taking a police officer one day and a politician the next somebody else just fills their place. Even the judges here are corrupt and protect the city and the establishment(the Look Out Mountain old money crowd).
I have lived here only a short time but this place has left a strong impression on me not to make waves here.
I lived there a long time, and made a few waves while there. Basically, it is a very good, and conservative city with friendly people (once they get to know you), and with lots of places of worship.
All I said was that the mayor's statement that 68 dispatchers was enough to have more than one person answering calls was correct. The problem is not funding. It is management. At this time, increased funding is not indicated because allocated resources are already being squandered. First, improve the efficiency of the system so that money is not being wasted. I've worked in government service for years, and the first dodge of the incompetent and lazy is to claim that the problem is funding levels. No governmental entity will ever admit to being adequately funded, although many are over-funded.
Good analysis.
LOL! 99% Baptist! I have never seen so many Baptist Churches in one place or for that matter private schools.
People are great, it is just the police and politicians arrested daily that get my attention. Not to mention the stories from the locals of wrongs done to them by the police or officials and covered up by the judges.
Maybe in this case some of the budget is being siphoned off with "no-show" employees.
Reminds me of when I called State Troopers (same 911 call center, probably) in Chattanooga after I'd been the victim of a hit-and-run accident one rainy night. They said they were busy and to call back the next day -- so I did so, then the Captain of the district essentially called me a liar, even though he could have easily gone and verified my statement by the audio recordings. They're worthless.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.