Mistake vs. Accident

I am Lisa. I have the privilege of talking to many dispatchers throughout the year. I love your stories and learn so much from you. I have heard many of you talk about hang up calls and the other day I wondered, “How do dispatchers know when the call is an oops, I did not mean to call 9-1-1 and a call for help?”

I did a little research and asked some questions and basically discovered that it is usually one of two things that you use to determine that. The first is pure instinct. This one is especially true of the seasoned dispatcher. You have developed your spidey skills and can detect a hang up for help versus and oops.

The other thing that I found was that when you call back, you listen to what the call will say to you. “Oops I accidentally dialed 9-1-1” is very different than “I am sorry, it was a mistake to call.” Most dispatcher have found that it was a mistake means that the person probably does need help and is scared to ask for it.

This is not always true and of course there are variants to this, but it is a good rule of thumb to follow when you get the hang up.

That’s it for today. Don’t forget to follow us here and on Facebook. See you next time!!