There are a lot of good reasons to call 911, but some people just don’t seem to get it.
E-Comm 911, which operates emergency dispatch centres in B.C., released a list of the least appropriate calls received in 2019.
Here are the top 10:
- Their parking spot was too small.
- The hair salon messed up their hairstyle.
- The neighbour was vacuuming late at night.
- The coin laundry machine didn’t have enough water.
- To ask why traffic was so bad.
- To ask police to come dig their car out of the snow in front of their house.
- To complain the police were “too loud” when they responded to a nighttime emergency and could they come back in the morning?
- To ask for information on water restrictions.
- To report a broken ATM.
- Staff at a gas station wouldn’t let them use the washroom.
E-Comm said the calls may seem funny, but could actually be dangerous because they take away time for people with real emergencies. The service received 1.6 million calls in 2019.
“Our staff must treat each call as an emergency until they are confident there isn’t one,” said spokesperson Jasmine Bradley.
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