When a stray rottweiler comes around with a hungry look in his eye, the car’s emergency brake fails and the vehicles comes crashing through the living room or a person is found unconscious on the sidewalk, most people know that 9-1-1 is the right call to make.
But Peninsula residents also call emergency dispatch centers in Port Angeles, Port Hadlock and Forks tasked with relaying vital information to fire, police and ambulance personnel to report less pressing concerns.
Within the last week, Peninsula residents have called 9-1-1 or the non-emergency number to report seeing a flying saucer — three times — to complain that a dentist was rude, that their computer had a virus and that a large rat had been spotted in a church parking lot.
Although these calls represent the fringe of the calls dispatchers receive, they are not about to tell people not to call.
“If someone feels they are in danger, it’s hard for us to judge that on this end,” Todd VanSickle, a supervisor with PenCom in Port Angeles, said.
But when people call in reports about crimes that are not ongoing and do not pose an immediate threat to life or property, he advises people to call non-emergency lines.
VanSickle said that although 9-1-1 lines receive top priority, dispatchers pay close attention to all calls.
The same goes for Jefferson County, said Donna Stamper, a supervisor at JeffCom.
“We don’t say ‘Don’t call us,”‘ she said.
“But if it’s a non-emergency, we refer them to the non-emergency number.”
Dispatchers don’t judge
The duty of a dispatcher is to route the appropriate services, not to judge which threats are real and which are imagined, VanSickle said.
“We’re not there,” he said.
Sometimes it isn’t the first time that a caller has reported an emergency that actually reveals the person may be having mental health issues.
For instance, starting in the middle of June and continuing through the first of August, a Port Angeles woman called dispatchers at least 19 times to report that her neighbor was harassing her with ray devices.
Port Angeles Police Chief Tom Riepe said the calls, which may be inappropriate, can tax the system.
“We want to help them, but it is hard on 9-1-1,” he said.
“We cajole, we’ve sent letters in the past” explaining the proper use of 9-1-1, he said.
But in cases where people may suffer from mental illness, it can give responders a chance to get the person the help they need, Riepe said.
“When dealing with the whole community, sometimes you have people who are mentally challenged, and their ability to communicate threats is limited,” VanSickle said.
“It’s best to send somebody over to see what is happening.”
PenCom handles calls for fire, law enforcement and ambulance service in the east side of Clallam County, and has three to four dispatchers on duty at any given hour.
JeffCom has at least two dispatchers on duty around the clock.
For western Clallam County, there is at least one dispatcher on duty at all times.