Open Phone Lines At Homes
I heard rumors that there was an e-mail about this some time ago, but I’m not sure if it went to everyone, or just the command staff. We learned/were reminded of this information and thought it worth while to pass on.
Q155 and M154 responded on a medical call last night, and the phone at the patient’s house would not stop ringing. Whenever someone would answer the phone, there wasn’t anyone on the other end. This is apparently caused by dispatch keeping an open line with the 911 caller, even after the caller has hung up. When we contacted DCSO, they said that the line was no longer open. Turns out that the original 911 call went to CRPD, and when they transfered the call to DCSO, they didn’t ‘hang up’ the line. Once the were contacted, and released the line, the phone stopped ringing.
So, in case you encounter the same problem, check with both dispatch centers to see if there is an open line. If both say that they phone line is no longer open and the phone is still ringing, unplug the phone and and throw it out the window. Kidding of course, but that would present a problem that we might not be able to fix.
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This has also happened to me on a fire alarm. However, it was caused by the 911 caller’s phone. I do not know the specifics but her phone line was routed through an internet based phone line. It goes into a “911” mode when 911 is dialed, similar to some cell phones. She had to un-plug the power to the phone and allow it to reset before it would stop ringing back into the home.
Did some research on this when this occured and learned that this also can occur with VOIP (Voice-over internet protocol) such as Vonage and the like. These services are becoming more common and we all have to remember that when this occurs the E-911 information may not be provided to CRPD or DCSO on the 911 call.
It is important that if we hear of citizens using VOIP for their home phones to educate them to provide accurate address information to the provider (i.e. Vonage).