Emergency operators at E-Comm, the regional communications centre for southwestern B.C., handle nearly one million calls every year, and some of those exchanges are now highlighted a top ten list of nuisance calls for 2013.
Spokeswoman Jody Robertson says the man who wanted to rent a fire truck to close off his street for a block party tops the list of callers failing to grasp that 911 is reserved for anyone whose health, safety or property is at immediate risk.
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She says it was hard to narrow the list to just 10, but other absurd calls range from the person seeking a wake-up call to the newshound whose paper was not delivered on time.
More examples include parents who requested a police officer come to the house to tell the kids to go to bed or hand over the remote control.
Robertson says children as young as three have successfully called 9-1-1 to save the life of an ill or injured caregiver and staff at E-Comm are mystified why adults are still confused about the purpose of the three digit emergency line.
She says callers must understand that 911 is not an information line, it’s a lifeline.
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