After reading the story in the New York Post regarding the problems that many people had when trying to call 9-1-1 the night of Sandy, one thing is very clear: 9-1-1 needs a complete overhaul.
The operators need to be able to take the calls as quickly as possible and need to be trained to be able to give accurate and concise information to callers. Some people were put on hold, others were told that they needed to call 3-1-1, not 9-1-1, which caused costly, and potentially fatal results.
What is going on?
Someone needs to be held accountable for terrible miscommunication. We depend on 9-1-1 for serious emergencies. Sandy was a very serious emergency and 9-1-1 needs to be able to better handle the calls when they come in.
The winter storm season will be starting soon; 9-1-1 needs to be ready to be able to handle however many emergency calls they might receive and not delay or put callers on hold.
John Amato
Fresh Meadows
