Frantic wife calls 911, catches dispatcher sleeping on the job


Recommended Posts

Snoring might have been the last sound a Maryland woman expected to hear when she dialed 911 in efforts to save her ailing husband.

A panicked Montgomery County woman called for emergency help just after midnight April 4. Her husband had stopped breathing.

"Hello? Hello?" the woman can be heard asking in between loud snoring noises allegedly from the dispatcher at the other end of the line.

"He's all blue right now. I don't know what to do," she said about 30 seconds into the call, as an alternate dispatcher picked up and tried to work through the disruptive snoring.

"Is that him I hear in the background," the secondary dispatcher asked the woman about the noises.

"Yes," she responded, twice, perhaps not realizing to what noises the dispatcher was referring.

Assistant Fire Chief Scott Graham says the snoring dispatcher's phone line remained open throughout the call, according to standard procedure. The procedure generally helps dispatchers and emergency responders stay in contact with each other.

This time, the would-be dispatcher contributed as many as 19 snoring interruptions to the call, before waking up nearly six minutes later, asking the caller for her address.

The woman's panic escalated as she told the dispatcher that her husband's airway had narrowed. Through her cries, the secondary dispatcher assured her that an ambulance was on the way.

"Tilt his head back," the dispatcher said, in between snores.

Graham told HLN that the sleeping dispatcher was 17 hours into a 24 hour shift at the time of the call.

"He was about a half hour before taking his break," Graham said.

The woman's husband was taken to the hospital and released. Some say he is lucky to be alive.

Medical Examiner and Forensic Pathologist, Dr. Michelle DuPre, said the man's condition could have been caused by lack of oxygen, heart attack or respiratory problem.

The man's name and medical condition have not been released.

Graham said he did not know how long the dispatcher had been employed at the call center but said the man was a seasoned firefighter and communicator.

The unidentified dispatcher is now on paid administrative work leave, pending an internal investigation. Graham declined to make further comment about the department's disciplinary process.

Eric Parry, Chair of the National Emergency Number Association Education Advisory Board, said there is no national regulation for 911 call centers.

"Historically, 911 was always a very local service," he said.

"I think it has to be investigated. They have to find out what went on during the shift and if there were any medical issues or other things that don't meet the eye."

Source

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is now closed to further replies.