What Should You Actually Do If You Accidentally Call 911? Wisconsin Emergency Responders Explain
Maybe you've been there before. I know I have.
You're in an office where you need to dial "9" first, and so you hit 9, then accidentally hit the "1" key twice. Or maybe your smartphone accidentally triggers a call (either due to a built-in safety feature or an old-school butt dial) and suddenly your phone is ringing up 911.
What are you supposed to do?
Your first instinct might not be the right one.
From a young age, everyone is told you should only call 911 if there is an emergency. That's generally true. Because of that, a lot of people are afraid to call unless there's something like a horrific accident, fire, or crime.
Add in the stories you hear about dispatch offices being understaffed or people getting into legal trouble for misuse of 911, and you get a lot of people who might have the first instinct to just hang up as soon as you can if they accidentally call 911.
Heck, there are laws in both Wisconsin and Minnesota that lay out the penalties for calling 911 when there is no actual emergency.
Even though those laws are on the books, that doesn't mean you should just hang up if it was actually an accident.
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As Bayfield County Emergency Management recently explained on their social media, the right thing to do is to stay on the line and talk to the dispatcher when they answer your call.
Staying on the line and explaining the call was simply an accident will actually save time in the long run for everyone involved.
If a dispatch office receives a call and they hang up, the dispatch office doesn't know there isn't an emergency. Because of that, their next steps will include calling back or sending someone to respond to the call.
While it might be embarrassing to admit a mistake or like you might be wasting valuable resources by having a dispatcher answer an accident call, the quick explanation it was an error is easier than the alternative for the dispatcher and emergency services to deal with.
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Gallery Credit: Tony Hart