Summer is here and you know what that means! Plenty of trips to the lakeshore, cooling off with a sweet treat at Frosty Boy, and-- an increase in accidental 911 calls?

A strange phenomenon is taking over Southwest Michigan and authorities are trying to figure out the root of its cause. Have you accidentally dialed 911 recently? If so, you're not alone!

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In a recent press release the Calhoun County dispatch shared the following about this recent trend:

911 accidental calls have increased recently. Other 911 centers in Michigan are seeing this trend as well. This week, Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch Authority answered 24 percent more 911 calls than the same week last year. While some of that may be attributed to weather, some is also influenced by these accidental dials.

How You Can Help

It's extremely crucial for authorities to find the cause of all this confusion because these accidental calls preoccupy dispatchers and prevent them from helping those who are facing an actual emergency where time is of the essence.

There are several ways you can help dispatchers in Southwest Michigan:

  • If you do happen to accidentally call 911 don't panic and more importantly don't hang up. Stay on the line so you can let dispatchers know it was just an accident.
  • Authorities are in the process of collecting data and would like to hear from anyone whose phone has accidentally dialed 911 anytime after May 1, 2023. If this applies to you, dispatchers ask that you please fill out a brief survey that may help identify a common cause for this odd occurrence. The survey is available here.

Could these incidents be at all related to the 911 outage experienced in Calhoun County this past January?

 

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