911, What Is Your Absurdity?

As a 911 dispatcher, you get a lot of ridiculous calls from a lot of crazy people. Tonight, I got to mark “new level of stupidity” on my bingo card.

Caller from big box store reports that something in the back of the store smells like it’s burning, and they want the fire department to check it out. To give you an idea where this is headed, 911 was their second call; first, they called corporate to see what they should do.

After gathering the relevant information, the caller was advised to evacuate the store until the fire department arrived.

Caller: “Oh, I don’t think we can do that. We just want someone to check it out.”

Me: “Well, yes, we’ll dispatch help. But you need to get everyone out of the store.”

And then I was put on hold (during which time I dispatched the fire department). A manager comes on the line.

Manager: “Yes, we just want someone to look into this.”

Me: “I understand. And the fire department has been dispatched. But I need to advise you again to evacuate until they arrive.”

Manager: “I can’t do that without permission from corporate. We’re not going to do that until they get here and tell us if there’s a fire.”

The good news is, it was not an open-flames type of fire, and thankfully, no one was hurt. Not surprisingly, they had to evacuate the store because – who saw this coming? – There was an issue with the store’s ventilation system, and it was burning up inside. 

Even less of a surprise, the manager got an earful from the fire chief for being so foolish and putting the customers at risk.