If you're planning on having an emergency, maybe don't rely on 9-1-1

[samhexum]

Just after lunchtime on June 18, Massachusetts’ leaders discovered that the statewide 911 system was down.

A scramble to handle the crisis was on.

Police texted out administrative numbers that callers could use, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu gave outage updates at a press conference outlining plans for the Celtics’ championship parade, and local officials urged people to summon help by pulling red fire alarm boxes.

About 7 million people went roughly two hours with no 911 service. Such crashes have become more of a feature than a bug in the nation’s fragmented emergency response system.

Outages have hit at least eight states this year. They’re emblematic of problems plaguing emergency communications due in part to wide disparities in the systems’ age and capabilities, and in funding of 911 systems across the country. While some states, cities, and counties have already modernized their systems or have made plans to upgrade, many others are lagging...

The nation's 911 system is on the brink of its own emergency

 

[dbar123]

My phone bill includes a surcharge for 911. Makes me wonder what they are doing with this money

[samhexum]

15 minutes ago, dbar123 said:

My phone bill includes a surcharge for 911. Makes me wonder what they are doing with this money

Maybe you're in one of the areas that HAS updated their system.

[dbar123]

22 minutes ago, samhexum said:

Maybe you're in one of the areas that HAS updated their system.

Massachusetts…

[MaybeMaybeNot]

In 2022, I called 911 after witnessing a car accident on the 405 in Los Angeles. I got voicemail. 

Edited July 18 by MaybeMaybeNot

[Welshman]

I was a caregiver for my grandparents from 2005 to 2021, and that included during the pandemic, during that period of time, I was told by the council's social care service that if either of my grandparents slipped, I was to leave them where they slipped, phone for a paramedic using the 999 service in the UK (our version of 911) and wait.

On one occasion, between the time of the slippage and the arrival of the paramedics, two care visits happened (to which they said "We cannot do anything, we are not trained for this event") and when the paramedics did arrive, it was 8½ hours later

[Just Chuck]

I've called 911 a lot.  The very first time I called, it went straight to hold and a message telling me to stay on the line.  I spoke to a dispatcher in I'd guess about two minutes.

Another time, I was out jogging on a trail near a busy road with fast moving traffic.  This section of the trail is on the very edge of town and there aren't really any buildings nearby.  I witnessed a very bad wreck ran to the cars to attempt to render aid (I'm a former firefighter.) and called 911.  The dispatcher's first action was to ask me for an address.  I said I don't know the address, it's an empty stretch of road and asked her to start ambulance, fire-rescue, and police for traffic control moving toward that street.  She said she couldn't do that with their dispatch software and I talked with her while she used google maps to pick an address to dispatch to.  

Even if you reach dispatch, you aren't necessarily getting help right away.  I remember sheltering in the fire station while a tornado was on the ground nearby.  We already had calls we needed to go to, but it wouldn't have made sense to send us out to become casualties also without being able to get to the people who already needed help.