Dispatcher ‘Laid Off’ After Response Delay

Officials at the Monroe County (Mich.) Central Dispatch comm center say a two-year dispatcher has accepted a “permanent layoff” without the chance for a recall after criticism that she delayed a response to a freak accident that killed a postal worker in the town of Dundee. Center director Alan Frank would not name the dispatcher, admitted that the 13-minute response delay was unacceptable. Postal officials and Dundee police said postal carrier Nancy Schafer was making her rounds delivering mail when she stepped onto the concrete slab porch of a home. The slap gave way, dropping Schafer eight feet into a former stairway to the home’s basement. Heavy pieces of concrete then fell on Schafer, pinning her down. She was talking to a co-worker on a cellphone at the time, and managed to give her address. The co-worker called the main post office, and a supervisor there dialed 911. The county dispatcher asked for Schafer’s location, and the supervisor replied, “She said she though it was 290 Midway.” However, the dispatcher asked if the caller had any phone contact with Schafer, and the supervisor said, “No, I’m going to go out there right now and I’ll have my cell phone and I can call back.” At that point, the dispatcher told the supervisor, “Yeah why don’t you give us a call back so we can have an exact location.” When the supervisor arrived, she dialed 911 again and units were dispatched for the first time. It took a tow truck to crane the 500-pound pieces of concrete off Schafer, and she died later at the hospital. Watch a video after the break.