Emergency phone lines in Ontario, Canada were kept busy last weekend, as one child called 911 over 400 times. Police say the child used the name Alex, but are not sure if "Alex" is a boy or a girl, and suspect the caller is 4 or 5 years old.
Police said dispatchers repeatedly asked to speak to parents and to stop calling 911 but were ignored. Adults could be heard in the background talking and offering the child pie. The dispatchers tried shouting into the phone to attract the adults' attention but were unsuccessful.
The phone the child was using was likely a pay-as-you-go or deactivated cellphone, police said.
"Caregivers must realize that deactivated cellphones are capable of dialing 911, even if it's a pay-as-you-go phone with no balance or time available," police said in a release. Children should not be allowed to use a cellphone as a toy, police said. "Tying up 911 resources like this can result in unnecessary delays for legitimate 911 emergencies," police said.
(info from http://www.winnipegsun.com/)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment