Jersey City officials say 911 delays amount 'seconds,' not minutes

February 02, 2012, 3:03 AM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Some 911 calls intended for Jersey City emergency responders are accidentally diverted to New York City, but there?s not much that can be done to rectify the problem, city officials say.

Cellphone technology is to blame, according to Greg Kierce, director of the city Office of Emergency Management. If someone on a cellphone calls 911 near a cell tower that?s close to New York, the call can get routed across the Hudson River, Kierce said.

But 911 operators are trained to request the caller?s location, so any delay would be minuscule, he added.

Police spokesman Lt. Edgar Martinez said delays are ?a second or two ... not minutes.?

The issue arose when CBS 880 radio reported yesterday that two people who called 911 reporting a Jersey City fire had their calls diverted to New York.

Martinez noted that New York is a back-up for callers to Jersey City?s emergency responders when the city?s system is down.

The last time I called 911 was back in 2004 or so. I was on the corner of 8th Street and Erie Street and the operator that picked up was a NYC 911 dispatcher. She couldn't recognize the address I was giving her.

My point is that this has been a problem for some time now.

We?ve seen lately that people in the downtown area, which is obviously only separated by the Hudson River there, depending on what the carrier is and their location to the cell towers, it could be picked up by New York City 911.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/02/0 ... calls-misdirected-to-nyc/
Could this be the reason police are not responding?