THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 10, 1994 TAG: 9411100622
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK AND JODY SNIDER, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: SMITHFIELD LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
Portsmouth electrical contractor Jimmy Albright learned first hand that not all 911 calls are treated equally.
As he drove his pickup truck Friday morning through the Gatling Pointe subdivision in Isle of Wight County, Albright was waved down by several men who asked him to make a 911 call on his cellular telephone. The men said a co-worker had been injured by a falling tree limb.
Albright said he called, but was put on hold. Twice.
He never did get through to an operator who could call a nearby emergency response team. Instead, Albright talked only to a state police dispatcher.
The first time he was put on hold for five minutes, Albright said. He hung up and called 911 again.
``As soon as the lady answered, she said, `Please hold,' '' Albright remembered. ``I mean, I couldn't even get a word in.''
Meanwhile, the men who waved him down found a nearby resident who was able to call directly to a rescue squad in Isle of Wight County, which answered the emergency call immediately. The injured man was airlifted to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Family members say he is recovering.
Albright, whose story was corroborated by others at the scene, experienced something unique to 911 callers using cellular telephones.
All across Virginia, except for an area near Fairfax County in Northern Virginia, 911 cellular calls go to state police dispatchers. In Hampton Roads, the calls go to the Chesapeake regional office on Military Highway. In the rest of the state, the calls are handled by other state police dispatchers at six regional offices.
Tammy Van Dame, state police spokeswoman, said the cellular calls are fielded by the state police dispatchers and then transferred to local 911 operators who then summon emergency response teams.
That means there is a delay in reaching emergency response teams when 911 is called from a cellular telephone, Van Dame said.
Calls to 911 made with land-based telephones go directly to the local 911 dispatchers, she explained.
No matter where the 911 cellular calls originate - the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Portsmouth's Churchland section or downtown Norfolk - they are handled first by state police dispatchers and then transferred, Van Dame said.
``When it has to be transferred, you will lose time,'' Van Dame said. ``There is nothing you can do about that.''
Van Dame said it is not the policy of the state police to put 911 calls on hold.
``That is not something that we do,'' she said.
Although state police dispatchers try to complete the transfers quickly, they are sometimes swamped. State police dispatchers in South Hampton Roads handle up to 5,000 calls to 911 per month, Van Dame said.
Barrett Brandon, telecommunications supervisor for the state police, said the arrangement was developed because the origin of cellular calls is difficult to determine. Barrett explained that calls go to a telecommunications relay tower from the mobile cellular phones.
``The (tower) would not know what jurisdiction the call was in,'' Brandon said.
Mike Ritter, manager of market development for Contel Cellular Inc., said a clearinghouse is needed for cellular calls because they come from telephones that can be carried from place to place.
Van Dame said state police dispatchers in Chesapeake recently have received cellular 911 calls from New York and Chicago. The calls apparently missed their area relay towers and were beamed to Virginia, Van Dame said. The calls were handled by dispatchers just like any other 911 call.
She urged 911 callers who use cellular phones to follow a few suggestions to speed the transfer process.
Callers should first give the operator a brief description of the nature of the call and then the location of the accident or incident.
``Then let the dispatcher lead the conversation because they know what questions to ask,'' she said.
Van Dame said at least one and usually two operators are designated to handle 911 calls as their top priority at all times in Chesapeake. The proliferation of cellular telephones has made their job increasingly difficult.
She encouraged people to continue using their cellular telephones to notify police.
``It is important to call in,'' Van Dame said.
``The system works as effectively as it possibly can.'' ILLUSTRATION: WHERE THE CALLS GO
All across Virginia, except for an area near Fairfax County in
Northern Virginia, 911 cellular calls go to state police
dispatchers.
In Hampton Roads, the calls go to the Chesapeake regional office
on Military Highway.
In the rest of the state, the calls are handled by other state
police dispatchers at six regional offices.
KEYWORDS: EMERGENCY 911
by CNB