Calls to 911 increased roughly 13 per cent in 2023 to over 2.1 million, however the volume of nuisance calls for trivial reasons kept pace. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

nuisance calls

Directions, burgers & barbers among reasons some called 911 in 2023

Dec 29, 2023 | 9:40 AM

NANAIMO — An Airbnb cancellation, a delayed fast food order and a traffic light taking too long to turn green were all reasons some people felt compelled to dial 911 this past year.

E-Comm 911, which handles around 99 per cent of calls to 911 province-wide released their annual list of nuisance 911 calls on Friday, Dec. 29. The list highlights the volume and type of distractions dispatchers must sift through while handling often life-threatening situations.

Topping the list this year was one caller asking for directions home from the Drake concert in Vancouver at the end of August, one of plenty of examples where resources were redirected away from actual emergencies.

“Every second we spend fielding questions about AirBnB reservations or complaints about UberEats orders, is time that could otherwise be dedicated to helping someone in a life-threatening emergency situation,” Alaina Milicevic, police call taker at E-Comm, said.

Overall call volumes to 911 increased 13 per cent in 2023, further stressing already busy call operators. It’s amounted to over 2.1 million calls for service.

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While hindsight offers perspective on the nature of the nuisance 911 dials, call takers don’t have the same luxury when trying to dispatch resources.

“No matter how absurd a call might be on the surface, we have to treat every 9-1-1 call as an emergency, until we can confidently determine otherwise,” Milicevic added.

She stressed 911 is for emergencies only: situations where police, fire or ambulance presence is immediately required.

These situations include jeopardies to someone’s health, safety or property, or if a crime is in progress.

For situations which aren’t emergencies, E-Comm 911 recommends knowing a local non-emergency number such as the RCMP or Fire Rescue station.

The agency also says it’s important to stay on the line if you dial 911 accidentally, so dispatchers can mark the call as an error and move on from the situation confidently.

Here’s a complete list of the top nuisance calls for 2023:

1. To ask for directions home from the Drake concert
2. The traffic light was taking too long to turn green
3. They lost a nose ring down the shower drain
4. Their AirBnB host cancelled their reservation
5. Their UberEats order was taking too long
6. A burger joint wouldn’t let them in before opening
7. They couldn’t find their cell phone
8. To complain about a pothole
9. Their McDonalds order was taking too long
10. The barber gave them a bad haircut

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