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Q&A
Council Member Riley inquires about 911 response time delays
1:27:23
ยท
120 sec
Council Member Kevin Riley raises concerns about reported delays in 911 response times, specifically mentioning instances where constituents have reached voicemail when calling 911. FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker expresses alarm at these reports and commits to addressing the issue with other agency commissioners.
- Tucker emphasizes that no one should ever reach voicemail when calling 911
- The discussion highlights the need for knowledgeable and empathetic 911 call takers
- Riley requests partnership with FDNY to address this issue with other agencies
Kevin Riley
1:27:23
Thank you chair.
1:27:24
Commissioners one more question.
1:27:26
We've heard anecdotal reports of backlogs in nine one one response times.
1:27:31
While we understand that nine one one operators are not within your budget, can you provide insight into delays between constituent calls and operators actually answering?
Robert Tucker
1:27:44
I'm I'm just I'm just I just wanna make sure I answer your question.
1:27:48
So are you asking about the amount of time it takes between the call and the the call taking the answer.
Kevin Riley
1:27:54
The call and the call answering and then you guys actually respond because we're hearing issues that constituents are calling 911 and sometimes they get into voice mail while things are actually taking place and happening.
1:28:06
So we just wanted your input on that even though not one operators are not part of your budget.
Robert Tucker
1:28:11
Well, yeah.
1:28:13
I mean, stories like that are horrifying to me and I'm willing to work with my other agency commissioners to you know colleagues to address that.
1:28:28
No one should get voicemail when they call 911.
1:28:31
Obviously we do have people calling 911 that we'd rather call 311 or some other make a different type of call.
1:28:41
But we want every single person that calls 911 for FDNY services to get a call taker on the phone who's knowledgeable, who's empathetic, and who's capable of dispatching the appropriate apparatus or ambulance to the scene as quickly as possible.
1:29:03
So there's no excuse to get voicemail when you call 911.
Kevin Riley
1:29:10
Thank you, commissioner.
1:29:12
And just would love your partnership.
1:29:13
We're working with other agencies to make sure that we could address this the right way because as you said, nobody should call 911 to get voice mails.
1:29:21
Thank you, chair, for the last question.