Thousands of false 911 calls harry Fresno sheriff’s dispatchers

Here’s an idea. Don’t call 911 to ask when the fireworks show starts. Or to report that power is out at your home.

Those types of calls, along with accidental dialing of the emergency number, accounted for thousands of false emergency calls Fresno County Sheriff’s dispatchers had to deal with between June 1 and July 19, according to spokesman Tony Botti. The sheriff is asking the public to be careful about pocket dials, misdials and calls to 911 by children.

Botti said the sheriff’s office received 6,014 calls to the dispatch center in the June-July time frame. Of those, 5,173 were determined to be accidental. Adding to the unnecessary workload, 1,495 of the calls were intended for other agencies such as police. He said deputies actually drove to 1,960 of the false emergency calls, an additional waste of resources.

Some tips to prevent accidental 911 calls:

▪ Lock your cell phone’s home screen.

▪ Consider carrying your cell phone in a holster to prevent pocket dials.

▪ If you do call 911, don’t hang up without telling the dispatcher what happened.

And don’t be this guy:

“I need to make a doctor’s appointment. Can you connect me?”

This story was originally published July 20, 2015 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Thousands of false 911 calls harry Fresno sheriff’s dispatchers."