Busy Saturday for Lower Mainland emergency crews, calls up more than 40 per cent
Posted June 27, 2021 7:31 pm.
Last Updated June 28, 2021 12:10 am.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — It was a busy night for emergency dispatchers on Saturday, as Metro Vancouver sweltered through the current heatwave.
Jasmine Bradley from E-Comm 9-1-1 dispatch says it was one of the busiest days she’s ever seen.
“[E-Comm 9-1-1] had 7381 calls come through 9-1-1 yesterday in a 24 hour period, which is significantly higher than our average of around 4500 to 5000 calls.”
Summer is always busy for emergency calls and dispatchers, but not this soon.
As our hardworking call takers prioritize helping ppl w/life-threatening emergencies first, we want to say thx for your patience if you're having to wait longer on police non-emerg lines. Check if your local police agency offers online reporting: https://t.co/injKLCHJsI #911BC
— E-Comm 9-1-1 (@EComm911_info) June 27, 2021
“As we were moving … towards the summer months, which we know historically are always busy for 9-1-1 and emergency services, we were expecting to see call volumes increased, but not this fast this soon,” Bradley says.
The majority of calls were directed to one particular service.
“I can tell you that the vast majority of calls that we were seeing coming through were for the ambulance service, and so it was a busy night of our staff trying to transfer those calls to the ambulance service,” she says.
Bradley urges the public to inform themselves on when they should or shouldn’t call 9-1-1 so dispatchers don’t get overwhelmed.
