You’re in the middle of an emergency.

Friday, March 08, 2002

You’re in the middle of an emergency.

You dial 911.

You hear … silence. No ringing, no dial tone, nothing-just dead air.

Don’t hang up; the silence is completely normal.

Marlys Sorlie, communications supervisor of the Austin Police Department says every caller who dials 911 will hear eight or nine seconds of silence. The silence is caused by "all 911 calls are routed to Rochester and then it comes back to us," she says. "It takes awhile because (coming back from Rochester) the database is sending all the information about where the call is coming from …. sending the phone number really slows it down."

The problem occurs nationwide and Austin Police Chief Paul Philipp says "the phone company is aware of the problem and they are doing what they can to rectify, but they don’t expect any change until the end of the year."

Even then, the problem won’t be completely fixed, but Sorlie says people calling 911 can expect a delay of only three to five seconds.

"It seems like it’s just been a problem for the last several years. At times it’s really bad. A person will dial 911 and will hear nothing, just dead silence. They think they did something wrong, maybe they dialed the number wrong. They hang up as our phones are ringing, so we don’t hear anything at the end of our lines," Sorlie explains. "We have to assume it’s a 911 hang-up call, but when we call back, they’re trying to call us again. It’s a vicious cycle."

Philipp says anytime the police department gets a 911 hang-up call, they have to investigate it and at times, have to "send officers to the address not knowing what to expect. It could be a medical emergency, a fire, a break-in or a legitimate 911 hang-up call."

"Basically, people just have to have patience. 911 isn’t that hard of a number to remember, so you probably won’t make a mistake," Sorlie says. "The problem is they want (911 service) and they want it now. They want it fast, fast, fast but they don’t realize they have to wait for it to be fast, fast, fast … they don’t understand the delay, because even when you dial an out-of-state long distance number, it rings right away."

She says she understands "they’re excited and their adrenaline is rushing and there is no patience and that’s what really causes a delay. If people just wait, it could save seconds."

"Be patient," Philipp says. "We promise that when you dial 911, someone will answer."

Call Amanda L. Rohde at 434-2214 or e-mail her at amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com