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Most people would likely wish never to have to make a 911 call; in most cases, it doesn’t entail being in a favorable situation. However, there are individuals who use the emergency number rather lightheartedly, as if they were contacting a friend; though sometimes, the reasons for their calls are so absurd, most people wouldn’t even call a friend for that.
Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community discussed such foolish reasons, after one user addressed the dispatches in the group and asked them to share their stories. The latter ranged from people calling to ask about the weather, to someone informing the teams that they need help with handling hot food, or, on the contrary, letting them know that their food has gone cold; yes, I know, it sounds totally nuts, but scroll down to find more stories to see for yourself that some people simply don’t understand what the emergency number is for.
Below you will also find Bored Panda’s interview with Ben Levitan, an expert in the field of the 911 emergency system and a pioneer in developing the Enhanced 911 system, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about emergency calls.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I was doing IT work at a dispatch center when a 911 call came in from a woman who said that she came home and heard a burglar upstairs. This was in a small town that doesn't get much crime. The town sent 5 of their own cops plus they requested mutual aid from two neighboring towns.
A total of about 10 officers cordoned off the area and set up a perimeter. Cops went into the house looking for the burglar.
They found that the noise was caused by a ROOMBA that got trapped in a closet. The vacuum was banging against the walls and the closet door trying to escape.
No arrests were made that day. Fortunately, no one was injured, either.
Lyone Fein 2 days ago
And it was still the most exciting call any of those officers had all that year!
RELATED:
#2
Girlfriend is a dispatcher and she has a ton of dummies calling in. Her most wholesome call was a little boy called to ask if they had his uncles phone number because he had just gotten a turtle and really wanted to tell his uncle.
#3
A couple of nights ago I was sleeping and heard “911 what’s your emergency?” “Hello?” I lift my head to see what was happening. My cat was laying on my phone and somehow managed to dial 911. I explained my cat stepped on the phone and called them accidentally. She just laughed and said goodnight.
Michael P (Perthaussieguy) 2 days ago
Accidental calls happen. Don't just hang up, tell the call centre what happened. They prefer you tell them it was accidental.
Looking to delve deeper into how much of a problem foolish 911 calls are, Bored Panda turned to an expert when it comes to 911 emergency calls, Ben Levitan, who was kind enough to share his knowledge on the topic.
“This is a big problem,” he said. “About 50% (according to the US government and the 911 Association) of calls received are not emergencies, they are not life or death issues. Moreover, 25 percent to 75 percent of all 911 calls are accidental dials.
“‘Butt dials’ are more and more common due to touch screens and the fact that phones often have a pre-set for 911. The phone companies also have a ‘permissive dialing plan for 911.’ Permissive dialing are rules like, if you only dial seven numbers the phone company assumes you are making a local call and fills in the area code for you. Or if you dial more than 10 digits on your phone, the phone company only accepts the first 10 digits. For 911, if you dial 991, 191, or even 919 (the area code of North Carolina), you likely will be directed to 911 automatically,” the expert explained.
#4
When they released our city’s stupidest 911 calls a few years ago, this was one:
There’s a deer in my yard. (A weekly occurrence here)
What is it doing?
*It’s looking at me.*.
#5
When I first started, one of the first calls I took was for a gentleman who stated "My butt sucked my vibrator all the way in, and I can't s**t, uh.... sorry, I mean I can't poop it out." He was right. Medics aren't going to try and fish it out, so off to the hospital he went.
As a newbie, I remember thinking that must be a one in a million call. 20+ years in, I've learned that it's not. In fact "things stuck in the butt" calls are fairly common.
David 2 days ago
A friend had a book of ER stories written by an ER doctor. Stuff that happened over the years. A 'butt' one we laughed over was - Dude comes into ER, they extract several barbie doll heads from his butt. I forget number but it was like four or six. Okay, weird enough. But then when they started to get rid of the toxic waste he started yelling, demanding his doll heads back. Those were HIS PROPERTY and so on. Which I suppose they were, but they were doll heads with poop on them and you know he planned to use them again.
Discussing why foolish calls or so-called ‘butt dials’ are a problem, Levitan noted that 911 operators have a set of standards they must follow—rules that are set by the National Emergency Number Association. “When someone calls you first ask ‘What is your location?’ then ‘Do you need police, fire or ambulance?’ Every call must be answered, and if it's a butt dial, action still has to be taken per the rules.
“Today, your location is usually known, but not 100% of the time. (This will get better in the next few years.) If you call 911 by accident and don't respond, or call with a non-emergency issue, the operator must dispatch police to your location,” the expert continued.
“This is done for legitimate reasons. People call 911 when they get in a wreck, but can't talk. A person who has been kidnapped and is in the trunk of a car can call 911 and not be detected. A woman in a house who's having a problem (domestic situation) or kidnapped kid can call and be guaranteed that someone will show up with help without them having to say a word, or when giving a nonsense story. A common problem that occurs is that the person simply doesn't speak English and needs help. If there is no response, there is a call back and then a dispatch. For nonsense calls, the operator has to make the decision. This all takes a lot of resources and with a shortage of 911 operators is dangerous to those who truly need help.
“So the harm is that according to 911 procedures they have to try to call you back and have to send help. Of course with 25-75 percent of calls being accidental that's a problem. With 50% of calls being nonsense, it ties up operators,” Levitan summed up.
#6
She got shampoo in her eye while showering. She rinsed it out, and her vision was unaffected, but it, like, *really* stung for a minute. She was 27 and could not be talked out of having paramedics dispatched. When the medics got there, they couldn't talk her out of going to the hospital.
She was fine, at least until she got word from her insurance company that they weren't going to pay for her "frivolous and unnecessary" ambulance ride.
SheamusFanFrom1987 2 days ago
Wonder which one *stung* more, her eyes after the shampoo incident, or looking the cost of taking an unpaid trip in an ambulance...
#7
I had a woman call and tell me a UFO had landed in her driveway. I was a little taken aback so I asked her to describe it while I dispatched officers using her exact wording. Of course officers scoffed but still went en route. She said there was a silver metallic object that came out of the sky and landed in her drive. Officers arrived on scene and there was a silver metallic object in her driveway .. it was dark out at this time so they approached it and found it to be a weather balloon. So it could actually be classed as a UFO. It had instructions on how to return it so officers returned it a few days later.
PhaseWitFact 2 days ago
Lots of people have never seen a weather balloon and would be concerned about one landing on their driveway.
#8
"Can you guys move the deer crossing signs? I've hit four deer now and it's just really dangerous for them to be crossing over such a busy highway".
“One more well-meaning, but foolish reason that people call 911 is that they pass an accident on the highway but don't see first responders at the scene,” Levitan continued. “What do they do? What do you do? You call 911 and say ‘I don't know if anyone has reported this but there's a big wreck out here’. The fact is that the first 911 call comes in about 30 seconds after the wreck and they keep calling in until passersby see the first responders on the scene. This is about 10 minutes after the wreck.
“Operators must answer every call, even if they see, the call is coming from the same location. The emergency could be unrelated to the crash or be coming from a neighborhood next to the highway. Operators ask, ‘Were you involved in the crash?’ If not, they are politely and quickly dismissed. Otherwise they are held for more information.
“So as a first responder, 50% of the time you are answering false alarms, and first responders are wasting their time, when there may be real emergencies.”
#9
Not a 911 dispatcher, but similar.
I received a call from a man saying he needed police out to his house, but he wouldn’t tell me where he was. He said he needed to be restrained, but would not tell me a reason why other than he was a bad man. He kept telling me he needed wrist and leg restraints and a hood over his face. In my mind, I thought he was going to hurt someone or already had, so I stayed on the line to figure out what was going on with him. He then told me to tell him he was a bad man and deserved to be restrained. He would say “tell me I’m a bad man. Tell me I’m a terrible person, who needs to be punished.” Then...it hit me. I spent 30 minutes on the line with a dude trying to live out his BDSM fantasy. I couldn’t believe I didn’t see it sooner.
#10
Not dispatch, but I used to field emergency court in the U.K. Emergency court is 24-hour walk-in, strictly for cases that can’t wait to be heard in regular court - deportation, life support, emergency custody. Serious stuff.
That did not dissuade some dude from turning up and demanding that we stop his neighbour’s cat from ‘trespassing’ on his land though. He ended up being fined later for repeatedly calling 999 over it.
#11
Older brother’s friend is/was (can’t remember) a 911 dispatcher. One call was from a very angry (presumably) white, conservative mom who caught her son engaging in homosexual activities with his friend. She said she needed the police to “beat some sense into him.” The dispatcher did send the police, but to have a talk with the mom.
Talking to the expert, we also wanted to learn how difficult a job being a dispatcher is, and according to him, it's a hard job to get, and a hard job to do.
“Becoming a 911 dispatch operator is tough. There is a lot of training, and then a lot of supervised training until you are on your own. The job is emotionally and mentally taxing. In the end it can be tremendously satisfying, but too many people—good people—don't stay long in the job. There is a tremendous turn-over in the industry.”
#12
Medic here. I worked with a medic who moved to dispatch and he called 911 himself one evening while off duty because he was trapped in a room with a crazy cat outside the door. he couldn't leave the room or the car would attack him. he was crying and desperate when he called it in. for the next 4 years or so we would "meow" periodically on the radio when he was working.
Ashtophet’sRevenge 2 days ago
A cat aggressive enough to attack a person is a terrifying thing… needle sharp claws and teeth, and hard to dislodge once they’re on you.
#13
I once called as a teenager because the power was out and I wanted to know if it would be on soon. In my defense I kept exotic reptiles that require very specific temperatures and it was winter. I was concerned for their health.
#14
Not a dispather, but firefighter. We were called out to a residence one very frosty morning mid winter during a very long cold snap...because the homeowner couldn't open his front door and was unable to get out to get to work. We drove up, I got out, ready to force the door open, but tried it first. It opened with minimal effort (frozen a bit). I opened the door and called out "Fire department. Did you still need us?" He was so embarassed and it was hilarious.
Levitan pointed out that, according to statements made by ex-dispatchers, the main reasons they quit include being overworked and lack of recognition or funding.
“There is a shortage of people who qualify, are willing to do the training, and do the job. 911 centers have to run 24 hours a day so centers have to assign longer shifts and shorten time off for those who are working,” he explained.
Discussing lack of recognition, the expert noted that “a lot of dispatchers understand they are working with life or death situations and realize that they are the ones who helped save a life. But what they don't get is recognition or thank yous. Rarely is someone you are helping in a position to say thank you when the call is done. It's tough on people.”
#15
"I need someone to help me take the lasagna out of the oven, I have no mitts".
Katie Allen 2 days ago
does that lasagna have two wasps on it or is it just burned in a weird looking way?
#16
A guy called because an injured bear was in his front yard for "a few hours". It was a giant landscaping boulder that had been there for years.
#17
Not a dispatcher, but someone as a 3yr old who called 911 that my dad went to work and that I miss my dad (I stuck to him like a magnet as a little kid). I'm assuming why I called 911 was probably because I only knew those 3 numbers on the phone and seeing that you can talk to people on it.
Thinking back, I feel soo bad for doing that. According to my mom, the cops did show up at our house just to check what was up.
Last but not least, “lack of funds or cheapskate city budgets,” as Levitan puts it, doesn’t make the situation much better, either. “When cities cut budgets or try to balance their budgets, 911 is always one of the first victims. Every telephone line in the US pays a monthly fee of about 50 cents to $1.25 to support 911. That's supposed to pay for equipment, training, and other needs of the 911 center. So why is 911 strapped? The money isn't all going to the 911 centers. There are famous stories of the money being used for Christmas parties for the Fire Department. The city often sees the funds as ‘their money.’”
#18
There was a lion in the backyard but they didnt realize its a plush.
#19
There are so so many in 9 years as a dispatcher. I once had an old guy call durring the last government shut down wanting to know if his cable was out because of the shutdown. Then there are the infinite number of Karen's calling in to report suspicious activity in their neighborhood, its always exactly the same, there's someone walking In their neighborhood that doesn't belong and they want them removed. When I press for more details they dance arround the answer. I always made sure to make them say on the recorded line it was because they were black. If you're gonna be a racist POS I'm gonna make you admit it out loud. Usually it winds up being their neighbor whose a heart surgeon or lawyer.
I've had people call because their neighbors blew leaves or grass clippings onto their lawn and want them arrested. I had another call because it was raining and their yard was flooding and they were pissed off. Ma'am we can't control the weather. The list goes on and on.
Geoffrey Scott 2 days ago
Thankfully, the last someone(s) who decided to take matters into their own hands on a suspicious person are now in prison. "They" being the crackers in Georgia, one retired sheriff, son deputy sheriff, and the pal of theirs who shot Amahd Aubry for jogging in a neighborhood. Claim was he was "shopping" a construction site, for that he apparently deserved to die.
#20
I work for an agency in a somewhat developed area but still has lots of woods between developed areas. Get a call for a fox running loose in a parking lot in a strip mall next to one of the aforementioned wooded areas. The caller saw a fox on the side of the parking lot chased it down and cornered it in the parking lot then used his jacket to trap it. We get there and he was like “I saw this fox and I caught it what should I do?” And we were like “ dude, let it go and stop bothering the wildlife” he reluctantly lets it go.
To this day I think that he was so proud of himself for catching that fox that he called the police department to brag about it since there was no one else that saw it.
Discussing foolish calls, Ben Levitan said that they are usually the exceptions. “Most people know when they need to call 911. We hear a lot of ‘stupid 911 calls,’ but these are the exceptions. If you think you need to call 911, you probably do.
“The problem is that when people know they have a problem but it's not life threatening, they don't know who to call. There really should be a short number for 911 non-emergencies. If you get into a minor crash, are both off the road in a safe location and need police to respond, it's easier to call 911 than trying to find the ‘non-emergency number’ for whatever town you are in. 90% of the time, when people get in a crash, they don't know their own location.”
#21
I had a guy call 911 and wanted to report that a woman had stolen his money. We were swamped that night so I kept him on the line trying to get further information. Upon asking a few more questions about the woman and her description it was obvious he was describing a prostitute. He then began to cry and begged me to not judge him for hiring a prostitute. I promised him I wouldn’t judge him and I would send him an officer as soon as we had one available. He hung up and I pended the call as the woman was no longer on scene. He called back on 911 less than a minute later and proceeded to want to talk about his hiring a prostitute until officers arrived. My partner and I continued to pick up his call after we had to place him on hold several times to take other 911 calls during the 15 minute period it took for officers to get to him. He ended up getting arrested for disorderly conduct that night as he was extremely intoxicated and decided he wanted to have a go at the officers when they arrived.
#22
Not a dispatch but One time my parents were out on a date and I called the police because my brothers were pulling my hair. I guess on the phone I sounded like I was screaming so the police showed up at my house just as my parents got home. I got in trouble.
#23
Some dude called us to make a “serious complaint” i asked him what was the problem and he said “They gave me like a medium size worth of fries and I asked for large” I was confused and I asked if this was a prank call. He said no. Dude was really pissed of that he didn’t get all his fries.
1 day ago
Calls like this happen all.the.time. and are more stressful than the true emergencies. Trying to tell pissed off, entitled people their issue is civil, not criminal, and they need to sort that s**t out with the business. And trying to, politely, get off the phone so the line is clear. People like this though can be tough to shake as they are not only convinced they are "right" but that *you* are the person to help them. They do not want to be told no - even if you give them the correct info needed to help resolve the issue - they will argue with you. On 911.
Needless to say, knowing your location is crucial in case of an emergency. “I can't tell you how many times something like this comes up,” the 911 expert said, giving an example. “A guy is on a business trip, staying at the Marriott on 5th Street. He's got a 15th floor room overlooking the city. He wakes up in the middle of the night thinking he's having a heart attack. He picks up the phone and calls 911.
“First responders roll up to the hotel at 2:15 AM and run into the lobby with their crash cart and equipment. One of the firemen looks at the night clerk, and asks ‘Where's the guy having the heart attack?’ The 18 year kid behind the desk doing the night shift, looks up and says ‘I dunno. Nobody told me anything about that.’
“Your phone tells the 911 center your GPS location, but not your elevation,” Levitan pointed out. “So the fire department and ambulance got to the Marriott Hotel but that's it. If you are capable, the first thing the 911 operator has to know is your specific location. For example, ‘Marriott Hotel, Room 1501.’”
#24
In the UK a woman in her 60s called the police because she was watching a live WWE show where two wrestlers (HHH and Stone Cold Steve Austin) were beating up The Rock.
She later said she knows it's all just a show but thought those two pesky bad guys had genuinely decided to attack The Rock.
It's still real to her, dammit.
#25
Little old lady would call every morning to ask what the weather was like outside. No matter how many times we told her to stop.
A grown man wanted to press charges against someone who flipped him off while driving.
#26
Not dispatch but a firefighter. Once called to effect entry in to a house for paramedics. The occupant - who a tippling way - had called them because... drum roll please... she couldn't close her curtains.
WindySwede 2 days ago
"I've alread gone to bed, and the floor is cold, could you olease break in and close the curtains? "
#27
There are apparently multiple people each month who think they can call the emergency number asking for the police to give them a ride home because they got plastered at a bar and don't want to drink & drive.
David 2 days ago
This isn't totally stupid, just misinformed. We have something like that around here on new year's eve. KINDA. I believe it is a taxi company that gives free rides to people too drunk to drive home. I don't know if any of it officially goes through 911 but I expect more than once someone called 911 and got transferred to the taxi company since it is kind of a community thing. However that is a one night a year thing when a lot of people traditionally drink. It's not just anytime you decide to hit the bar without a ride home.
#28
My aunt worked on these in the 80s. She said a woman once called saying her gravy had gone cold.
#29
I don't know if this story counts but I know someone who had to be rushed to hospital because she accidentally swallowed her false teeth whilst eating fried chicken (and here's the doozy) DIDN'T NOTICE until she got another piece of chicken and tried to bite into it with her gums. And entire set of false teeth. She had to call an ambulance to take her to the hospital because when she called family members to ask them, they didn't believe her because it was so ridiculous.
#30
I don’t work dispatch but my little brother once called “the liece” when his chocolate fish was eaten by an unknown assailant.
What do you think ?
John Ambrose-Hemmingway 1 day ago
Former dispatcher. I once had a lady call because she had a bad dream.
Mason Kronol 1 day ago
I’d like to thank the dispatchers that dealt with my various calls over the years. After so many times calling 911 over bar fights is no big deal. I’ve done a George Bush style duck for a beer bottle in my day. Dispatch: does he have a weapon? Me: well, he was hitting people with his shoes but he threw them and now he’s locked out. The guy who took off his fake leg and started swinging . The guy in a wheelchair that customers finally just wheeled outside and locked the doors. I am very sympathetic to disabled and housless people so I made sure people were taken care of. Defended them and gave them the same service.But you can’t harass other people. And throw shoes at people. Oh, the time the cops showed up because cops called 911 on themselves for fighting with another group of cops in the bathroom but left before local cops showed up. And we knew who the cops where but it was too funny to narc on them… I don’t know how dispatchers stay so calm 😬
USMC5815 1 day ago
On a Marine Base, When does the pool open? My neighbors watering the grass and getting mine wet. My neighbor borrowed a screwdriver and lost it. The jets are too noisy. Why are the Marines running and calling cadence? What time is morning colors? (from the OOD) I have anthrax on my keyboard. (powdered sugar from her donut) What flag condition are we in? What time is trick or treating? My wife called me a son of a b*tch. All thru the 911 line.
John Ambrose-Hemmingway 1 day ago
Former dispatcher. I once had a lady call because she had a bad dream.
Mason Kronol 1 day ago
I’d like to thank the dispatchers that dealt with my various calls over the years. After so many times calling 911 over bar fights is no big deal. I’ve done a George Bush style duck for a beer bottle in my day. Dispatch: does he have a weapon? Me: well, he was hitting people with his shoes but he threw them and now he’s locked out. The guy who took off his fake leg and started swinging . The guy in a wheelchair that customers finally just wheeled outside and locked the doors. I am very sympathetic to disabled and housless people so I made sure people were taken care of. Defended them and gave them the same service.But you can’t harass other people. And throw shoes at people. Oh, the time the cops showed up because cops called 911 on themselves for fighting with another group of cops in the bathroom but left before local cops showed up. And we knew who the cops where but it was too funny to narc on them… I don’t know how dispatchers stay so calm 😬
USMC5815 1 day ago
On a Marine Base, When does the pool open? My neighbors watering the grass and getting mine wet. My neighbor borrowed a screwdriver and lost it. The jets are too noisy. Why are the Marines running and calling cadence? What time is morning colors? (from the OOD) I have anthrax on my keyboard. (powdered sugar from her donut) What flag condition are we in? What time is trick or treating? My wife called me a son of a b*tch. All thru the 911 line.
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