With an emphasis on not hanging up, accidental 911 calls originating from Bakersfield College continue to cause problems while plans for a new phone system are in the works.
Faculty and students using in-house phones are mistakenly calling emergency 911, when in reality they are trying only to get an outside line.
In order to get an outside line, you first must dial a “9,” then the number. Problem is, when someone attempts to make a long distance call, they are pushing “9” then “1” for long distance and then “1” again, making it 911.
Realizing their mistake, people are hanging up as quickly as possible; however, according to Wayne Clement, telecommunication manager for the Kern Community College District, you cannot hang up fast enough. “We understand that it happens, but please do not hang up,” said Clement. “We want to educate people that if you dial wrong, just stay on the line, and let the operator know what happened.”
The problem sometimes occurs three or more times a week, but there are stretches of time with no calls.
If a call is received by emergency 911, but the caller hangs up, police officers are dispatched regardless to investigate the nature of the call. Due to the size of BC, it is difficult to pinpoint an exact location of the emergency, creating another problem: time lost between when the call is made and when help arrives, a problem that Clement is working hard to remedy. “The biggest handicap is, we don’t have a way to identify a caller’s exact location,” Clement said.
There are currently 1,000 phones lines at BC, and Clement is working toward implementing a new system that will pinpoint the location of an emergency call. The system should allow a quicker response time from the Bakersfield Police Department, which is the first agency to respond, as well as emergency response teams.
With the installation of this new system, when a caller hangs up, 911 dispatch has a location that enables them to call back, which is not possible at this time.
“It is a big task,” said Clement. “We hope to have it working within six months. There is much data and software development that is taking place in order to ensure the system will succeed.”
For now, Clement wishes to emphasize not hanging up. If you accidentally dial 911, then you should “just apologize, and let them know you made a mistake,” said Clement. “But if you do need assistance, by all means, call 911. Our focus is the safety of the faculty and students.”
If calls continue to be a problem, there is a chance that the city could pass an ordinance and charge BC $500 per incident.