Cellphone 911 calls failed in big storm: Prudence

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Liz Ditz <ponytrax () batnet com>
Date: December 22, 2005 11:19:16 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] Cellphone 911 calls failed in big storm: Prudence

Dave, E911 is all well and good, but a prudent person has a backup plan.

 I live and travel about  in Silicon Valley, which has a patchwork  
of emergency responders.  In my car (and more importantly, my teen  
daughter's car) I keep a list of the direct numbers for emergency  
dispatch for the various municipalities we travel through.   I've  
also programmed in  the direct number for EMS dispatch for the stable  
where she rides her horse, so if she's in an accident, or witnesses  
one,  help can be summoned quickly.  (I learned this the hard way, as  
911 dispatch was very slow to arrive to an equestrian accident as the  
dispatcher was unfamiliar with the location of the stable.)

If any of your readers are (for example) mountain bikers,  putting on  
speed-dial  the direct  EMS dispatch number for the trails they  
frequent is a good idea.


**********
Liz Ditz
ponytrax () batnet com

blog: http://lizditz.typepad.com

Success: fall down seven times, stand up eight.

On Dec 22, 2005, at 2:48 AM, David Farber wrote:

> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com>
> Date: December 21, 2005 11:15:26 PM EST
> To: undisclosed-recipient:;
> Subject: Cellphone 911 calls failed in big storm / Verizon promises  
> to ferret out why system broke down
>
>
> Cellphone 911 calls failed in big storm
> Verizon promises to ferret out why system broke down
>
> By Douglas Belkin, Globe Staff  |  December 21, 2005
>
> At the height of a blinding afternoon snowstorm almost two weeks ago,
> the state's enhanced 911 cellphone system failed, leaving motorists
> stuck on highways unable to reach police easily.
>
> State authorities said the glitch, which appears to have been in the
> Verizon network that routes all cell 911 calls, lasted as long as 40
> minutes. The result: Users who called 911 around 3 p.m. on Dec. 9
> heard only a busy signal.
>
> ''Something jammed the system. The calls never got through," said
> Edward M. Merrick Jr., the chairman of the standards committee for
> the Statewide Emergency Telecommunications Board, which oversees the
> system. ''It's a serious concern."
>
> The breakdown coincided with a Northeaster that barrelled across
> Massachusetts, icing roads, crippling traffic, and decreasing
> visibility to just a few feet. Parts of the state received 15 inches
> of snow and experienced wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour.
>
> The hour before the storm hit, the State Police enhanced 911 center
> in Framingham answered about 500 calls. But between 3 p.m. and 4
> p.m., operators received fewer than 200. It is not clear how many
> calls failed, but it appears a switch that controls which cell calls
> enter the 911 system was overwhelmed and shut down. Land-line calls
> still went through.
>
> Merrick was aware that call volume had lessened during the storm, but
> until he was contacted by the Globe, he attributed it to not having
> enough operators on duty. It was only after some inquiries, and 10
> days after the storm, that Merrick learned the problem may have been
> on Verizon's end.
>
> ...
>
> http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2005/12/21/ 
> cellphone_911_calls_failed_in_big_storm/
>
>
>
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