911 Operator Shares The 6 Craziest Experiences She Had While Working

I only had about 5 hours of sleep in between 16-hour shifts. Only had an hour left and morning rush hour was ending, so I was ready to get out so bad. Next thing you know the lines are lighting up like a f*****g Christmas tree. Luckily nobody was killed, but it sure woke us up!

Got a call from an alarm company one day. Nbd, they're easy calls. Until I put in the address they gave me and it came up as a firehouse. I let the dispatcher know so she could clear it, but instead she sent out the next station. Turns out the station where the alarm was had left a lasagna in the oven and accidentally turned it to Broil instead of off in the rush to get out to their call. Everything (except the lasagna) turned out fine, but I'm sure the guy who did it will never live it down.

Another frequent flyer. A sweet man we'll call Charlie. Charlie knew he had issues and knew when he was about to have an episode. He was also, unfortunately, homeless. So whenever he was about to break down, he would find a landline to call us (because it automatically gives us the address and number). We got to know him so well that he even recognized our operator numbers. Sometimes he'd just say "I need to go" and we knew it was him.

There was a lady who had constant issues with her husband. One day she called and told us to get there quick, because she was going to shoot him. The thing is, Husband was her dog, and when officers got there (they actually rushed, because cops love dogs) she was standing in the yard holding a plunger under her arm, pretending to [private part] it like a shotgun and yelling "BOOM!!" at the poor pup. When the officers tried to take it from her, she just started yelling "You can't stop me!!" and ran around the yard trying to avoid them. Her "Husband" was taken to the Humane Society.

Time for some badassery. The only time I ever saw the whole department actually work smoothly together. Our system was getting updated, and when that happens, we have to do everything on paper, since we can't very well shut down 911. It was early in the morning and a bank robbery call comes in. This thing turned into a full on car chase spanning 8 different municipalities with 4 jurisdictions in 3 different zones, AND state police territory. We had supervisors and trainees on the floor running cards back and forth, calltakers writing out copies, 2 dispatchers running the whole county while the rest dealt with the chase. One of the ones on the chase relaying everything to State Police (in another building). It was controlled chaos. After we got him and everything was clear, the wave of relief that came over the room was legendary.

This one is hard to think about. It was a late shift. Some time after midnight, and we got several calls. One from the owner of a house that had just been hit by a Semi, one from the neighbor, and one from the driver who was trapped in the cab. The driver got our best dispatcher. A lady who'd been there for 20-some years. She could handle anything. I was connected to her line for a training review. He was trapped in the cab and was more worried about the people in the house than himself. He just kept saying "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Then he just stopped. He starts saying "Oh God. Oh God. I smell diesel. I can smell the diesel. I'm going to die. I'm gonna die here." She was trying to calm him down, but everytime she switched to mute, she started shouting at the dispatcher to make them hurry. It ignited before they got there, though. I can still hear the sound. Him screaming, you could hear the flames, and then nothing. And the best dispatcher got up, signed off, and walked away. She didn't come back until her next shift. There was nothing we could've done, but we're the ones who are supposed to be able to do something. That's the thing that makes jobs like this the hardest. EDIT: The accident report said he struck the gas line when he went through the kitchen. That's probably what started the fire. I don't know what ignited it, though.