By Jeff Bahr
The Grand Island Independent
Smartphones have made it easier for 911 dispatchers to determine the location of callers.
Even if people aren’t sure of their location, the phone tells dispatchers where to send first responders.
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The dispatchers use a couple of programs to provide locations for firefighters, medical personnel and law enforcement. One is called RapidSOS, which places a map over a map.
How often can dispatchers rely on smartphones?
“As long as our programs are functioning properly, it’s almost 100% of the time,” said Celine Richards-Zlomke, one of the dispatchers at Hall County/Grand Island 911 Communications & Emergency Management.
What helps pinpoint the location even further is an app called what3words. The people behind what3words have divided the world into 3-meter squares, each of which is identified by a combination of three words. Those combinations might seem random — like sinkhole, primal and agency — but they can take emergency responders to a precise location.
With what3words, “I can even tell you that they’re parked on the third parking spot from the north at Taco Bell,” said Richards-Zlomke.
The three words can tell first responders where in an apartment building they’re needed. What3words is especially helpful at large gatherings, such as big events at Fonner Park .
If a person is having medical issues, “the responders can just click on the link in the call, and it’ll take them right to where the patient is,” said dispatcher Tehya Lind.
Even when smartphones are working, the dispatchers still confirm the location with the caller.
But sometimes, the phone doesn’t give dispatchers the information they need. The caller might be using a burner phone. Or phones might be having issues.
In those cases, the dispatcher has to rely on verbal communication.
“A lot of times, the caller does not know where they’re at,” said dispatcher Julie Baquet. “People don’t know their directions — north, south, east, west — either.”
To help, dispatchers will ask if there’s a building or business nearby. Is there a road sign? What do you see? What area or town did you just go through? What was the last street sign you saw?
In giving directions, a caller might recommend turning at the big old elm tree that everybody seems to know about. He might mention the name of a farmer who owns the land.
But the dispatcher isn’t familiar with the farm.
“Then we’ll just start talking,” dispatcher Stephanie Kelly-Brown said. Is he in Wood River, or close to Cairo? Is he east or west of Grand Island? They’ll ask if there’s a nearby landmark.
If the caller is in Grand Island , dispatchers will ask if he’s headed toward the mall or JBS. Is he traveling toward Hastings or St. Paul? If he’s on the interstate, is he traveling east or west?
At times, callers aren’t as specific as they could be.
Reporting a suspected drunk driver, a caller might report that the driver just left a parking lot.
Then where did he go? “Left,” the caller will say. If the dispatchers don’t know which streets are involved, the word “left” doesn’t help very much.
Dispatchers can tell amusing stories because of the wide variety of calls they get.
Dispatchers never know what the next call will bring. One person called about an injured duck.
They’ve heard it all. “Oh, we have. You can’t make it up,” Kelly-Brown said. “That’s what’s so great about the job.” She’s done it for 18 years, “and no call is the same.”
Callers sometimes claim to be at one location, even when they’re somewhere else.
Sometimes a drunk driver will get into a crash, leave the car where it is and run home. He will then call in to report that his car was stolen, even though it wasn’t.
When an officer responds to the man’s home, he might detect alcohol on his breath.
The man might say, “When I got home, I was so distraught that I had to have a beer.”
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