By Joyce Kryszak
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbfo/local-wbfo-532407.mp3
Buffalo, NY – Since it came on the scene 35 years ago, the 911 emergency system has been a life-saver for many. But recent reports of people being put on hold is causing some alarm about the management of the emergency system. At least one tragedy could be tied to a 911 delay.
A bright, summer afternoon suddenly turned into a dark nightmare for one Buffalo man. One minute the innocent by-stander was tending to his routine daily business. The next minute he was tending to a victim in need of emergency care.
The tape you hear is only a sample of a 911 call. If you'd heard the actual 911 call from that day you would have heard the caller being put on hold.
The victim from this incident died.
WBFO agreed to keep the identity of the caller anonymous for his own safety in the ongoing case. He describes the flood of emotions he felt while waiting for help to come back on the line.
What the caller did was to immediately dial 911 from his cell phone. He said he was stunned to be put on hold as if he were calling a busy department store.
He's not sure how long he waited before hearing a dispatcher on the other end - maybe ten seconds. He said it felt like an eternity.
But he thinks there was another delay. He answered a barrage of questions from the 911 operator before he believes an ambulance was dispatched.
Officals said that an ambulance is immediately dispatched as sonn as there is a report of a bleeding victim.
But the caller said he watched the victim bleeding in front of him for at least ten minutes before an ambulance arrived on the scene.
Could the delays have meant the difference between life and death?
He believes it could have.
And there could be others who have waited too long. Erie County District 2 legislator Timothy Kennedy said he has received multiple complaints.
Two weeks ago, Kennedy said residents began telling him they too were put on hold when calling 911 during an emergency.
Kennedy submitted a resolution to the legislature last week calling for a full review of the 911 emergency system. He said that Central Police Services, which operates 911, needs to allocate funding better to make the system run more efficiently.
Kennedy said Central Police Services responded quickly to his call. Kevin Comerford is commissioner for the department.
He said it is a complex problem.
For starters, he said the City emerency calls they handle are compounded by the flood of wireless calls the 911 system takes in countywide. He says they are looking at staffing to meet the extra demand.
But Comerford said all calls are handled by a dispatcher within 10 seconds as required by law. Still, he's asking for $500,000 more in the 2007 budget to add another eight dispatchers. The administration will submit its 2007 budget in a couple of weeks.
According to Comerford, the 911 system was spared from budget cuts during the county budget crisis.
But Kennedy said if more money for 911 is needed, he is one lawmaker who will support it.
Our anonymous 911 caller who witnessed a tragedy hopes so. He sees a direct connection between the money and the aftermath.
He says that is why he now reminds people they should only use 911 in true emergencies - so those who really do need the life line can get through.
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