15 minutes 57 seconds
🇬🇧 English
Speaker 1
00:00
-♪ ♪ -♪ ♪ 911. You know, the thing you call right after WebMD tells you you're not gonna be able to get it out on your own. -♪♪ 911 is a number so important, we do everything to make kids remember it, from classroom posters, to toy phones, to folksy PSAs produced by local firehouses.
Speaker 2
00:21
Hi, Mrs. Clark. Welcome to Station 4.
Speaker 2
00:23
So, who knows when to call 911? You should call 911 if a person is badly hurt or in danger right now. If you're not sure whether it's a real emergency and there are no adults around, it's a good idea to make the call.
Speaker 1
00:37
Now, that's true, but sometimes you should call even if adults are around. For instance, if someone's dying and the only adult is Matthew McConaughey, maybe don't leave the decision to him. Oh, you're bleeding out their horse?
Speaker 1
00:50
All right, I'll tell you what to do. Let's get some bongo drums and a bit of herbal love and tell that open wound to come together, hombre. We got it done. We make roughly 240 million 911 calls each year, and the dispatchers do amazing work talking people through childbirth, CPR, abductions, and home break-ins.
Speaker 1
01:10
In fact, we're so accustomed to relying on them, we even call when we don't have an emergency.
Speaker 3
01:16
911, where's your emergency? I'm sorry, but the firework's still on. I'm sorry, you cannot call 911 for that.
Speaker 4
01:23
Thank you.
Speaker 3
01:24
You're welcome.
Speaker 5
01:24
I think I'm having an overdose and it's killing my wife. We made brownies and I think we're dead.
Speaker 6
01:29
Time is going by really, really, really, really slow.
Speaker 7
01:32
Oh yes I'm calling because I have a baby lizard in my house, and he crawled in my printer. The baby crawled in your printer? No, a baby lizard.
Speaker 7
01:40
Oh, a lizard. Where is your emergency? I'm on the door.
Speaker 3
01:44
That's a little boy named Richie.
Speaker 1
01:46
I'm done.
Speaker 5
01:47
You're done? Potty. Oh, you're done
Speaker 4
01:51
potty? Okay.
Speaker 1
01:51
Now, okay, now I know, I know that sounds adorable, but that kid may have caused such a mess in that bathroom, he had to call 911. Yeah, this is Richie. You guys have some sort of emergency cleanup crew you can send out?
Speaker 1
02:05
Because I am done going potty. We have a lot of faith in 911, but the system can break down more than you think. And when it does, people can die as a result.
Speaker 8
02:17
Chanel Anderson was delivering newspapers in the dark in suburban Atlanta when she careened into this pond. She knew right where she was.
Speaker 7
02:27
The fairway in Batesville. Batesville in what? The fairway is the street, ma'am.
Speaker 7
02:34
The fairway, I don't have that.
Speaker 8
02:35
But 911 dispatchers can't find her on their map. It took first responders nearly 20 minutes to get to her.
Speaker 1
02:45
She died because a system we expect to save our lives failed her. And 911 losing valuable time simply because dispatchers have trouble determining your location is not unusual. The FCC estimates improving location accuracy could save over 10,000 lives a year, which seems like a worthwhile goal.
Speaker 1
03:04
People making emergency calls are on the very short list of things we expect to be found 100% of the time. It's that, the clitoris, and Nemo. He's not a bad fish. He's not a bad fish, he's just curious and he's capable of more than you think.
Speaker 1
03:20
And the obstacles for 911 centers don't stop there. Depending on where you live, they may also be underfunded, understaffed, and full of outdated technology. Which is fine, if you're describing a radio shack, but it's a little scary when you're describing a place that handles life and death situations. So tonight, let's focus on how on Earth we got to this point.
Speaker 1
03:41
Now, the location problems have a lot to do with the fact that 70 to 80 percent of all 911 calls now come from cell phones. And that's become a problem. When everyone used landlines, they could simply match the call to your billing address and know exactly where you were. But now, you could be anywhere, unless, of course, you have AT&T, because then you can only get reception standing on a chair right by your living room window as long as it's not cloudy.
Speaker 1
04:06
And while 911 centers do get some location info from wireless carriers, it varies wildly. Sometimes they might only get the cell tower your call was routed through. And that's why, around the country, your chance of them quickly getting your exact whereabouts ranges from as low as 10 percent to as high as 95 percent. Just watch 1 reporter put a dispatch center in Virginia to the test.
Speaker 7
04:30
911, what's the emergency?
Speaker 8
04:31
Hi, this is Jeff Rossen with NBC News. Just want to know if you can tell me where our location is on your computer.
Speaker 7
04:37
Showing 4641 West Fox Road.
Speaker 8
04:40
That's not here? Absolutely not. That's about a quarter mile away.
Speaker 8
04:43
And we're standing in the actual 911 center. That's it right down there.
Speaker 1
04:48
Oh! That is not good. You never want to be in a situation where you have to tell someone, I'm actually inside you right now. And if you're thinking, if you're thinking, well, hold on, wait a minute.
Speaker 1
05:03
I can find my location on my cell phone. Well, you're not alone. Dispatchers wonder the same thing.
Speaker 9
05:08
I can check in on Facebook, and it'll tell you exactly what building I'm in. I can be at the hockey game, and it tells me I'm at First Niagara Center checking in on Facebook. But when you call 911, we don't get that...
Speaker 9
05:19
Accurate location information. So the technology's out there, it's just not getting to us at this point.
Speaker 1
05:24
But that's a good point, because even the Domino's app can tell where you are, and they've barely mastered the technology to make a palatable pizza. So we asked everyone, from the FCC to public safety groups, to industry trade groups, about why it seems Ubers can find you better than ambulances can. And there doesn't seem to be a simple, satisfying answer.
Speaker 1
05:45
Broadly, what we were told was, services like Uber aren't always 100 percent accurate either, particularly in rural areas. Plus, emergency workers would like technology that can tell them what floor of a building you're on, and no 1 seems to know how to do that yet. And while the wireless industry does claim to be working toward incorporating some of what Uber uses into 911 location services, it seems there is no guarantee when that'll be ready for widespread use. What we do know is that the FCC has mandated they improve accuracy so that by 2021, carriers deliver a usable location for callers 80 percent of the time.
Speaker 1
06:21
Which sounds impressive until you put it like this.
Speaker 10
06:24
6 years from now, 911 could still be unable to find 1 out of every 5 emergency callers.
Speaker 1
06:31
That's not good enough! The sentence, in 6 years, I might not be able to find 1 out of 5 of you, is only acceptable if you're speaking to the members of 1 Direction. And...
Speaker 1
06:42
I'm sorry, Niall, but 1 of you has to be the JC Chazelle. And... And look, fixing the location problem won't fix everything. 911 is so fragmented, there are currently 5,899 dispatch centers, because each county or municipality in an area might have its own 1.
Speaker 1
06:59
Plus, there is no guarantee that any 2 dispatch centers use the same technology or have a system to work together. And none of this is helped by the fact that in 6 states, there is no specific statewide entity in charge of coordinating 911 services. And while Georgia law does require an actual committee to help develop plans for 911, it's not exactly a robust body.
Speaker 10
07:22
This is it. Georgia's permanent 911 advisory committee. You'll notice all 15 seats are empty.
Speaker 10
07:30
There's no 1 at the mic, and there's nothing on the agenda. This committee hasn't met for years because there isn't a single member currently appointed.
Speaker 1
07:40
How the fuck is that possible? We even asked, and a spokesperson claimed that that committee does actually have members, but couldn't confirm it's active and didn't answer when we asked for those members' names. And come on, you could at least make up a name like, I don't know, John Miller, right off the top of your head.
Speaker 1
07:59
It's clearly not hard. And there is a lot that that committee could be doing. For instance, for over a decade, the federal government has been talking about something called Next Generation 911. Basically, upgrading dispatch centers to an IP-based network and enabling them to do things like accept videos and text messages.
Speaker 1
08:17
And that could be life-saving in situations where you can't make a phone call, like domestic violence, or a home invasion, or having a heart attack in a library. I mean, sure, get some help, but have some respect for the other patrons. -♪ ♪ -♪ But as of right now, no state has fully implemented NextGen 911, which makes no sense. This would make everything so much easier for the dispatchers whose jobs are frankly hard enough already.
Speaker 11
08:45
Some days, depending upon the outcome, it's good. Other days, not. Sometimes you really don't know the outcome and you go home at night and you wonder, is it something I could have done that would have prevented maybe this person from dying or this person from getting hurt.
Speaker 11
09:02
And then there are other times when you might save a life. That you go home and you, you know, you pat yourself on the back, you're driving home and you cut the music up and you're saying to yourself, wow, I did something really good.
Speaker 1
09:13
Okay, I mean, that is a wider extreme than most of its experience in our daily jobs. For me, the difference between a good day and a bad day is whether there's hazelnut creamer in the break room, or whether Janice from accounting drank it all again. God damn it, Janice!
Speaker 1
09:28
That's not even milk! That's disgusting! -...yes. -...and that level of stress, combined with funding shortages, has caused dispatch centers to be understaffed.
Speaker 1
09:38
In fact, right now, go to Google, put in understaffed 911 dispatch and your town, and see what comes up. Because in many places, it will be headlines like these. It seems 911 staffing problems are 1 of those things a ridiculous number of cities have, like a Chinatown or a statue of someone racist. And if your local dispatch center is understaffed, then when you call, the first voice you hear may be this.
Speaker 5
10:04
You have reached Memphis 911 Emergency. All operators are busy, so please remain on the line.
Speaker 7
10:09
You have reached the Cincinnati 911 Center. Your call will be answered as soon as possible.
Speaker 3
10:14
You have reached New Hanover County 911. We are currently experiencing high volumes of emergency calls. You have reached 911 Emergency Dispatch.
Speaker 3
10:24
Do not hang up. If in danger, lay down the phone and go to safety.
Speaker 1
10:29
Oh, 0! Go to safety? Why didn't I think of that?
Speaker 1
10:33
Here I am in danger when really, I could simply be going to safety. I shouldn't have wasted your time by calling in the first place. And some of that call volume is on us. The ubiquity of cell phones means if 50 people see a fire, 911 might get 50 calls.
Speaker 1
10:49
And that's on top of an even bigger strain on the system.
Speaker 2
10:53
Approximately 84 million 911 calls a year nationwide are butt dials.
Speaker 12
10:59
1 person even butt dialed 911 136 times.
Speaker 13
11:03
When you receive a call and it's from, as we call the butt dial, there's really not a whole lot you can do.
Speaker 14
11:11
When I tell them to butt dial them, they always sound kind of aggravated. I mean, it's kind of a waste of their time, you know? Like, okay, make sure you don't call again.
Speaker 1
11:20
Okay. Honestly, I'm willing to bet that guy hears the same response from just about anyone he dials by accident or on purpose. So look, we have An antiquated, disjointed system populated by workers who are understandably sick of listening to people's butts. And what makes this even more frustrating is that almost everyone's phone bill has a line like this on it, which you might assume goes directly to fund 911 centers.
Speaker 1
11:47
But the FCC's fee report showed that since 2008, at least 20 states have diverted those dollars elsewhere. Which is probably why, depending on where you live, 911 may be a joke in your town. To quote Duran Duran. I mean, I know it's a public enemy song, but did you know that Duran Duran covered it?
Speaker 1
12:07
-♪
Speaker 4
12:07
Number 1 is a joke
Speaker 1
12:08
♪ -♪
Speaker 4
12:08
Number 1 is a joke ♪ -♪ Number 1 is a joke ♪ -♪ Number 1 is a joke ♪ -♪ Number 1 is a joke ♪ -♪ Number 1 is a joke ♪ -♪ Number 1 is a joke ♪ -♪ Number 1 is a joke
Speaker 1
12:16
♪ You're welcome. Because you haven't heard that disaffected anthem properly until you've heard it performed by a white man named Simon from Hertfordshire. The point is, we are routinely raiding 911 to pay for other things.
Speaker 1
12:32
New York State, which has seen multiple breakdowns in its 9-1-1 systems, took in over 185 million dollars in fees in 2014, but then diverted 77 million into the state's general fund, where it could be spent on pretty much anything. And yet, when the governor was asked about this, he blew it off.
Speaker 3
12:50
Is that something in the budget process that you'll take a
Speaker 10
12:53
look at? Is it right for
Speaker 3
12:54
us to divert this money?
Speaker 2
12:56
It is not an issue that has come up. And I haven't heard any local legislator raise it, but if it comes up, we'll look into it.
Speaker 1
13:04
Okay, A, it just... Came up. B, legislators have raised the issue repeatedly since you've been in office.
Speaker 1
13:11
And C, not diverting money away from 911 is 1 of those things you shouldn't have to be told not to do. Like siphoning gas out of a fire truck to put in your dirt bike. Oh, look, no one's told me this is wrong, so if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna spin some donuts in that Arby's parking lot. But This blasé attitude is indicative of the fact that until we're explicitly confronted with the challenges facing 911, it seems we're not going to do anything about them.
Speaker 1
13:39
And maybe the problem is that we are taught from a young age to take 911 for granted. So Perhaps it's time for that to change.
Speaker 2
13:52
So, you should call 911 if a person is badly hurt or in danger. Any questions? Yeah.
Speaker 15
14:00
So, if I call 911, you'll come and help me?
Speaker 2
14:03
Well, I'm sure going to try, sweetie. But I got to be honest. If you're calling from a cell phone and you don't know your address, a lot of the time we're going to struggle to find out exactly where you are.
Speaker 15
14:13
That's scary.
Speaker 2
14:14
Well, don't you worry. By the year 2021, we will find you every time. 4 out of 5 times.
Speaker 16
14:20
Wait, how can you not know how to find me? I can order pizza from my phone right now, and they know exactly where I am.
Speaker 2
14:26
It's not the same thing.
Speaker 16
14:27
I just did it. There's a pizza on its way.
Speaker 2
14:30
You know what? I'm gonna get a dispatcher to come explain this to you.
Speaker 12
14:33
Hey, kids. Firefighter Bill said you had some questions about why we're not able to find you all the time.
Speaker 15
14:39
Yeah. Why is that?
Speaker 12
14:41
Well, we just don't have the technology to,
Speaker 2
14:43
Pizza's here. Shit. Get out.
Speaker 12
14:46
On the bright side, some places have pretty good statewide systems, like, Maine.
Speaker 15
14:50
Hey, my grandma lives in Maine.
Speaker 12
14:52
Well, then she should be fine.
Speaker 15
14:54
My grandma lives in Georgia.
Speaker 12
14:56
Ooh, she is fucked. Totally fucked.
Speaker 16
15:00
Why don't you guys just try harder?
Speaker 12
15:03
Excuse me?
Speaker 1
15:04
Oh, shit.
Speaker 12
15:05
You think I don't try hard? I just worked a 12-hour shift. I helped deliver 3 babies.
Speaker 12
15:11
I saved a family from a fire. I pulled a lizard out of a printer. And I listened to 15 different butts. Oh, yeah, well, we'll see how hard you're laughing when I'm listening to someone's ass and you're all burning to death in your beds.
Speaker 1
15:26
Ah! Ah! It's so hot! The flames, they're licking my body!
Speaker 1
15:30
-♪♪
Speaker 2
15:34
Okay, who wants a pint of Dalmatian? To a medical professional if you experience a wait time longer than 4 hours.
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