Non-Emergency 911 Calls Costing Everyone Time, Money
By: Allison Morrison
Updated: February 13, 2013
When you think of dialing 911, you likely think "emergency."
But some of Lubbock's first responders tell us, that number isn't always used for emergencies.
In fact, a Lubbock EMS spokesman said only about 15% of the calls they respond to are "actual emergencies."
A 911 call made from a Burger King drive-thru in California has gone viral on YouTube and it's an example of a non-emergency call made to dispatchers.
Dispatcher: Sheriff's department, how can I help you?
Caller: Yeah, I'm over here at Burger King, right here in San Clemente.
Dispatcher: Mm, hmm
Caller: I ordered my food three times, I asked them four different times to make me a Western BBQ Burger, okay. They keep giving me a hamburger with lettuce, tomato, cheese and onions and I said I'm not leaving.
Dispatcher: Uh, huh
Caller: I want a Western BBQ Burger because I just got my kids from tae kwon do. They're hungry. I'm on my way home and I live in San Clemente.
Here at home, calls like the one placed at that Burger King, are happening as well.
Below is a 911 call KAMC obtained.
It was made from a restaurant in Central Lubbock.
Caller: Hi, this is a customer, a paying customer and I'm at River Smith's at Marsha Sharp and uh, Avenue Q. Some food was served to me that wasn't servable. Half of it was hot and then the rest of it wasn't and so I have my receipt and asked them for my money back and gave them the fish back and they're not, uh, saying they're not going to give my money back.
Dispatcher: And you've already paid for the food but they're refusing to give you your money back
Caller: You're exactly right, and we've given them the food back and showed them how half of it was fresh and the other half wasn't fresh and so they took it, along with the receipt, and then the man apparently, the one that apparently cooked the food, came and argued me down and said it was fresh and you know all that kind of stuff. I was like dude, whatever, it will never happen again, just let me have all my money, you got the food and whatever. He says, I'm not giving you the money back.
Lubbock police responded to that 911 call.
Sergeant Jonathan Stewart said an officer responded to act as a mediator in the situation, but a police report was never filed because a crime had not been committed.
Police aren't the only ones who respond to these types of calls.
EMS Director, Chris Teague says his department receives non-emergency calls often.
"Toothaches or disciplining people's kids," he described.
Teague said those non-emergency calls are taking resources away from someone that might be in a life or death situation.
"That is a problem. That ties us up for those kinds of calls, when there could be somebody having a cardiac arrest or a major traffic accident or something like that," he said.
Not only are non-emergency calls taking away valuable resources, every time an ambulance leaves the station, it costs money.
Lubbock's Fire Departments respond to about 2,400 911 calls a month.
Out of those, only 75 to 100 of them are actual fires, according to Fire Marshal, Robert Loveless, and every non-emergency call firefighters go to, takes fuel and that means there's less money in the budget for things like training and station improvements.
Loveless said heading out on non-emergency calls can also be hazardous.
"The more times we drive up and down the road, running lights and sirens, that puts our firefighters in danger, as well as the public, so we try not to do that in cases where we don't have to," he said.
So when should you call 911?
Here are a few examples:
A fire
A crime- especially if it's in progress
A car crash- especially if someone is injured
A medical emergency (someone who is unconscious, not breathing, having an allergic reaction, chest pain or uncontrollable breathing)
Lubbock Police Department and Lubbock Fire Departments have non-emergency numbers you can call to report things that are not life or death situations.
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