WILKES-BARRE -- Some members of the Luzerne County Council want a full investigation into the operation of the county 911 center.
Twice in 2014, dispatchers sent crews to the wrong address in an emergency and in both cases, an individual needing help died.
County council members want to know how often crews are dispatched to the wrong addresses.
A December incident that came to light at Tuesday night's meeting shows not all problems in the system come from the 911 center.
At a fire in Mocanaqua on May 15 and at a medical emergency in Kingston on November 27, witnesses called 911 expecting help. In both emergencies, workers at the Luzerne County 911 center in Hanover Township sent fire and rescue crews to the wrong address in the wrong community.
In both emergencies, people needing help died, leaving loved ones to wonder if they might have been saved if the dispatching center`s mistake didn`t cost precious minutes.
"This is a serious issue for the county," said county council member Kathy Dobash.
Dobash wants a full investigation of the 911 operations.
"An investigation might reveal more things that might help us," Dobash said.
"Why is it taking so long for ambulances?" Tammy Tomchack of Hanover Township asked.
Tomchak told commissioners that at a December 20 service at St. Monica`s Parish in West Wyoming, a woman stopped breathing. A parishioner dialed 911. Records show it took nearly 15 minutes for help to arrive and when it did, it was in the form of three different ambulances, from three different ambulance companies.
"And they`re all asking each other, `Why are you here? When did you get the call?' And everyone said, 'Just a minute ago,'" Tomchack said. "So instead of having no ambulances, we now have three ambulances on site."
911 Director Fred Rosencrans says this was not the fault of his dispatchers, but of two ambulance crews that didn't respond, so dispatchers were forced to call a crew from Exeter.
It arrived just seconds before crews from the first two ambulances called by the 911 center got to the scene.
"I think we`re being cast in a very dark light and that is not the case. We strive every day to make sure every call is handled to the highest standard," Rosencrans said.
But those dispatchers held responsible for sending crews to the wrong addresses where individuals died resulted in firings or resignations.
That is why some council members want a top to bottom investigation of the 911 system.
Council members plan to vote on that in two weeks.
