By EMS1 Staff
SAN FRANSCICO — A new campaign is hoping to reduce the number of accidental 911 calls.
NBC Bay Area reported that the campaign urges people to lock their cellphones before putting them in their pocket or purse.
“We’ve seen a huge increase due to cellphones and touch screens,” Rob Smuts, with the Department of Emergency Management, said. “We estimate that close to one-third of our 911 calls are accidental calls of all kinds.”
Dispatchers will still have to verify all calls are not real emergencies, according to the report.
Additionally, San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin said the city is in the process of filling operator positions and addressing dispatcher shortage issues.
“Our numbers thankfully have been creeping up. We are at 83 percent, but we still have another seven points before we hit the national standard of 90 percent of calls being answered within 10 seconds,” Peskin said.