Need Help, LA? Calling 911 From A Cell Can Be Dangerous: Report

LOS ANGELES, CA —An intruder breaks into your home, you’re spouse is having a heart attack, or you’ve been in a car accident. Angelenos calling 911 may find themselves squandering precious life-saving minutes while waiting for someone to pick up the phone and help them, according to an NBC investigative report.

Depending on where you are calling from, a call to 9-11 will likely route you to the California Highway Patrol Los Angeles Communications Center, a facility that is understaffed and straining under the constraints of outdated technology, CHP insiders told NBC. According to whistleblowers, callers have had to wait as long as eight minutes to get an emergency dispatcher on the phone while others eventually hang up before a live person ever answers.

"Somebody is going to die with this equipment we have. Somebody is going to die because we can't get to the calls to answer the calls. It's just a matter of time," said one insider.

“Good luck. Good luck getting through," one employee told NBC when asked what can happen when calling 911 with an emergency.

"I know that I signed up for a job to help people and I can't do that right now and it feels awful," said another insider.

Officials with the CHP disputed the notion that residents in distress aren’t getting a 911 dispatcher on the phone in a timely manner, noting that 91 percent of its 911 calls are answered in 15 seconds or less.

However, the communications center failed to meet the guidelines for response times set by the National Emergency Number Association and California's Office of Emergency Services every month in 2016, according to NBC.

A technology upgrade is scheduled to help fix the problem, CHP Lieutenant Joe Zizi told NBC.

"We are on the cusp of getting a new telephone system and that will be installed by the beginning of next year," Zizi said.

For the full NBC investigative report, click here.

TIPS FOR CALLING 911

• It's always best to call 911 from a landline because your call will go directly to your local agency and your location will automatically appear on the dispatch computer. Neither is the case with a 911 call from a cell phone. Dispatchers can't get a specific location of where you are located when calling from a cell phone, only a general radius.
• Provide an exact location. If you are driving a vehicle and witness an emergency, please pull over to a safe location prior to calling 911. If you don't have an address, provide the dispatcher with a description of landmarks such as a water tower or a mile marker.
• Do not hang up until told to do so. Answer all questions that you are asked.
• Call back if your situation changes. Dispatchers will assist in assessing the situation and will send more help if needed.
• Familiarize your child with how your telephones operate. Different telephones and cell phones require different steps in order to reach 911 or even a dial tone.
• Write down your address & display it in your home. Your children, babysitters, and other visitors need to know your street address for a 911 call.
• Speak clearly and calmly. This simple advice is extremely difficult to do for both children and adults during an emergency. Ask your child to practice repeating location information in a clear, calm voice.

Photo: Shutterstock; Patch staffer James Warden contributed to this report.