911 Call is a Stumper

This week’s featured blog was contributed by PowerPhone’s 911 training instructor, Ret. Chief Dennis Bryson.  In addtion to teaching the Advanced Fire Service Dispatch class, Dennis has been actively involved in the fire service for 20 years.   During his tenure as Chief of Rural Fire Protection #1 in Florence, Oregon, he directed fire suppression operations, supervised the crisis communications training of firefighters, and coordinated public education programs.

One of the cornerstones of PowerPhone’s dispatch training philosophy is that dispatchers must be prepared to handle all types of calls. In the past we have issued alerts about how to handle a call from someone who is trapped in their submerged car, and a basic part of our Advanced Fire Service Dispatching class is how to deal with someone who is trapped in a structure fire. We believe that by being prepared and installing protocol software which include pre-arrival instructions, you can better assist the caller, decrease you own exposure to liability, and also reduce the stress levels for the dispatcher.

However, the recent recall of over 3.5 million cars by Toyota for the removal of driver’s side floor mats to keep them from jamming the accelerator wide open has posed a new issue. In September, 2009 a caller in California called the 911 dispatcher and asked what they could do because their accelerator was jammed and the car was rapidly increasing speed. The call lasts 55 seconds before the crash captures the caller and the dispatcher trying to figure out what the problem is and how to solve it. Sadly, the car crashed at over 100mph killing the three people in the car including a California highway patrol officer. Click to hear the call

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last year studied the situation and issued the following report: They found that the driver of the car would need 150 pounds of force, five times the normal foot pressure, to halt their speeding car. They likely would have trouble finding the neutral gear in an emergency. One solution is to push the keyless power stop-start button continuously for at least three seconds in order to kill the engine. This three second requirement is not even mentioned in the owner’s manual of the affected cars. The report also cited that one in ten Lexus ES 350 owners has reported the experience of their accelerator becoming stuck open by floor mats creeping underneath the accelerator.

As a 911 dispatcher, hopefully you will never have to take call like this. However, if you can follow this guide line from the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission, perhaps you can help to avoid another accident and loss of life. If you own one of the recalled Toyota cars, then it would be best to pull out the driver’s side floor mat until the car can be seen and have the problem corrected.

Related Stories

• Toyota to Replace Gas Pedals
• Toyota and Lexus Drivers – Beware!