Addresses Missing From DeKalb 911 Computer
Posted: 6:43 am EDT June 10, 2010Updated: 11:09 am EDT June 10, 2010
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. -- A Channel 2 investigation into a delayed 911 response in May has now exposed a major computer problem.
DeKalb County's Public Safety Director, William Miller, says an upgrade to the Computer Aided Dispatch system which dispatchers use to send rescue crews, apparently deleted a number of addresses from the county's records.
"We flat out knew they had no idea where they were going," said Travis Hite, who nearly died after waiting 34 minutes for an ambulance on May 21. His fiancée called 911 from their Briarwood Road condominium while Hite was gasping for air from an allergic reaction. She remained on the phone while dispatchers instead sent an ambulance to Briarwood Drive, since Briarwood Road did not appear in the system.
"The incident on Briarwood was the first time we realized some of the addresses had dropped out of the database based on that update back in April. So that's what we're still investigating to find out why that happened and how many addresses are affected," said Miller.
He said workers from the computer vendor and the county's IT department are assessing the problem. Just last week, Miller canceled the county's contract with its non-emergency ambulance provider, CARE Ambulance.
The company claims Miller has made them a scapegoat for the county's 911 problems. CARE Ambulance was not involved in Hite's call or several others that have come under recent scrutiny.
Miller said he has not determined whether 911 operators also made mistakes in Hite's call. He is still investigating.
Channel 2 Action News obtained the 911 audio recordings and found Hite's fiancée gave her correct address at least seven times. She gave the name of the condo complex, cross streets, and even offered repeatedly to give the ambulance directions. She knew DeKalb County Fire Station 2 was just one mile from their condo. But the dispatcher never sent the ambulance from Station 2, even though the paramedic driving from across town told her Station 2 would be closer.
Hite questions how many of his neighbors may be in danger. "Do you find out you're not in the database purely by something happening to you? It's kind of scary," he said.
He supports county commissioners who are now considering doing an audit of all DeKalb County 911 calls. He questions why the CEO hasn't already called for one saying, "To me that raises a red flag that he's either trying to cover up something or he doesn't want to admit to something."
The couple says they'll think twice about calling 911 for an emergency again. Hite's fiancée, Megan Halligan, said, "To see what he was going through and that I couldn't help him, and I had called 911 thinking they could get there in the quickest amount of time, and for it to be over a half an hour, it was the scariest moment ever."
DeKalb County's Public Safety Director, William Miller, says an upgrade to the Computer Aided Dispatch system which dispatchers use to send rescue crews, apparently deleted a number of addresses from the county's records.
"We flat out knew they had no idea where they were going," said Travis Hite, who nearly died after waiting 34 minutes for an ambulance on May 21. His fiancée called 911 from their Briarwood Road condominium while Hite was gasping for air from an allergic reaction. She remained on the phone while dispatchers instead sent an ambulance to Briarwood Drive, since Briarwood Road did not appear in the system.
"The incident on Briarwood was the first time we realized some of the addresses had dropped out of the database based on that update back in April. So that's what we're still investigating to find out why that happened and how many addresses are affected," said Miller.
He said workers from the computer vendor and the county's IT department are assessing the problem. Just last week, Miller canceled the county's contract with its non-emergency ambulance provider, CARE Ambulance.
The company claims Miller has made them a scapegoat for the county's 911 problems. CARE Ambulance was not involved in Hite's call or several others that have come under recent scrutiny.
Miller said he has not determined whether 911 operators also made mistakes in Hite's call. He is still investigating.
Channel 2 Action News obtained the 911 audio recordings and found Hite's fiancée gave her correct address at least seven times. She gave the name of the condo complex, cross streets, and even offered repeatedly to give the ambulance directions. She knew DeKalb County Fire Station 2 was just one mile from their condo. But the dispatcher never sent the ambulance from Station 2, even though the paramedic driving from across town told her Station 2 would be closer.
Hite questions how many of his neighbors may be in danger. "Do you find out you're not in the database purely by something happening to you? It's kind of scary," he said.
He supports county commissioners who are now considering doing an audit of all DeKalb County 911 calls. He questions why the CEO hasn't already called for one saying, "To me that raises a red flag that he's either trying to cover up something or he doesn't want to admit to something."
The couple says they'll think twice about calling 911 for an emergency again. Hite's fiancée, Megan Halligan, said, "To see what he was going through and that I couldn't help him, and I had called 911 thinking they could get there in the quickest amount of time, and for it to be over a half an hour, it was the scariest moment ever."
Article Found at: http://www.wsbtv.com/
A few years back I called 9-1-1 because of a fallen tree down on some lines in the neighborhood. The dispatcher argued with me about what address I was calling from. They still had my house number as 712... even though it was THEM that had issued an address change to our house to 725 a few years previous!!! It took me several phone calls over the next few days to get it straightened out.
ReplyDelete