An Eight Mile family is questioning why their emergency call went unanswered while a relative’s mobile home burned, though the county’s 911 center says the delay stemmed from an extraordinary surge of calls.
Helen Helveston said she could see flames and smoke pouring from her cousin’s back window from her own nearby home. When she dialed 911 for help, she said the phone rang about fifteen times before she gave up and called again; a dispatcher answered on her second attempt.
“I just want to know why they didn’t answer the first time,” Helveston said. “I don’t know if it would have made a difference or not, but I thought somebody was always supposed to answer the 911.”
Family members believe an electrical spark ignited the fire in the home’s back bedroom. The trailer and everything inside it were destroyed, and the family lost a small dog in the blaze, though no one was hurt. The family is staying in another home.
The fire also injured a neighbor: Helveston’s uncle, who lives next door, cut his arm on broken glass while spraying the flames with a garden hose — the injury that sent her into a panic to reach a dispatcher.
Dispatch center points to call surge
Charlie McNichol, deputy director of the Mobile County 911 Communications Center, said that at the time of the call the center received twenty-four calls within ten minutes with only four people working the phones.
“If there’s anything we could have done better, we’ll critique it and will train on that,” McNichol said. “At the same time, that does seem like a lot of calls coming in within a ten-minute period for us to process.”
He stressed such delays are rare and urged anyone facing an emergency to keep calling — but offered one key tip: don’t hang up, even if the line keeps ringing. Callers who hang up lose their place in queue and wait longer than those who stay on the line.