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911 dispatchers handle pranks in stride

By Maureen O'Donnell
The Chicago Sun-Times

CHICAGO — They are busy helping the city's 911 callers give birth to babies, issuing instructions on how to do CPR, and taking real emergency calls about fires and crimes.

So, please don't telephone police and fire dispatchers to report: "My ass is on fire."

That's one of the wackier prank calls that 911 gets -- on a somewhat regular basis -- from kids after school.

The city held a news conference Sunday recognizing its 911 workers to mark National Public Safety Telecommunications Week.

The workers' skill often means "the difference between life and death," said Jim Argiropolous, acting chief of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, which handles 5.4 million calls a year. The 911 center gets "tremendous" help from the city's 311 operators, he said.

Workers had suggestions for callers. "It's important to always know the correct address where you want the police to go," said dispatcher Kari Cichon.

And no matter how stressful the situation, listen to the 911 center's questions. They may save a life, said Anne Rannochio, who helped deliver a baby by phone.

Call 311 for non-emergencies, officials said.

Nuisance calls waste resources and slow response, staffers said. A few pranksters have called up to 25 times a day, giving such realistic reports of crimes and fires, it's likely they are listening to scanners, said Frank Alberon, a fire communications supervisor.

But some calls are just a waste of time. For example, a fast-food customer called 911 to say "his food was cold, and he only received one pickle," said police call-taker Carolyn Fitzgerald.

"We had a number of calls, 'My child won't go to school,' " said Cheryl Mitchell, police communications supervisor.

Some nuisance calls are breathtaking for their annoyance level and brevity, asking:

"What's the date?"

Copyright 2008 The chicago Sun-Times

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