DENVER — We're taught our whole lives that every second counts in an emergency, so a red flag was raised for one Denver woman when she called 911 and got put on hold.
Susan emailed Denver7 her experience, but declined an interview. She said she passed a crash on 17th St. and Park Avenue and got put on hold for three minutes when she called 911. She eventually hung up and was automatically called back. The operator asked if she wanted 911, the non-emergency line or if she dialed in error.
Susan selected non-emergency and was put on hold for another 10 minutes. The cycle continued, and in total, she was on hold for around 30 minutes before she said a dispatcher answered.
Denver7 took her concern to Director of Denver 911 Andrew Dameron. He was able to pull up her call and others made about the crash.
"It looks like the first person that called in for this called in and got an answer within about 40 seconds, and then by the time she called, she was waiting for an answer for a couple of minutes," Dameron said. "That tells me that we had a spike of 911 calls in that moment."
Dameron said Susan's 30-minute wait has to do with how the system lines up calls.
"The way our phone system works is it prioritizes 911 calls. So if you call on the non-emergency line, and maybe you've been waiting for a minute or two for someone to answer, and then someone calls 911 that call is going to jump the line in front of you," Dameron said. "That's done by design, right? We are assuming that when you dial 911 you have a life-or-death emergency, and so you're going to jump to the front of the line."
You should call 911 to report a crime, report a fire or to save a life, Dameron said.
Otherwise, the non-emergency line may be a better option.
"If one of our residents is unsure if their situation fits in one of those categories, we will always accept a 911 call. You know, we want our residents to feel comfortable calling 911," Dameron said.
Denver 911 gets anywhere between 4,000 and 5,000 calls a day, according to Dameron.
Right now they are 92% staffed, and they've budgeted for additional positions in 2025, according to Dameron.
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