Fire Chief Says Dispatchers Left Out Info

When Lee County (Fla.) dispatchers fielded a call from an elderly woman who complained of breathing problems, they didn’t give arriving firefighters enough information to justify immediately breaking into the of the home, according to the fire chief. Instead, the firefighters spent 14 minutes ringing the doorbell and calling for a deputy before they took the door off the hinges and found the victim dead inside. Bayshore Fire-Rescue chief Larry Nisbet now says firefighters acted properly, and instead pointed to dispatchers. He said the dispatchers should have told firefighters they could hear the doorbell over the open 911 call, should also have told the firefighters that the woman was initially talking, and then went silent during the 911 call. But county 911 program manager Matt Rechkemmer says the dispatchers followed policy, and hasn’t recommended discipline or any procedure changes. Read more about the incident here and ponder your comm center’s policies for a similar incident.