(NewsNation) — In an emergency situation, a few seconds can be the difference between life and death but Americans around the nation say they’re having to wait longer to get through to 911.
NewsNation affiliates throughout the country have documented the ongoing problem of 911 callers being left on hold. From Little Rock to Las Vegas, residents are reporting delays — in some cases waiting 20 minutes to connect with an emergency operator.
At the end of June, the average 911 hold time in Austin was roughly three minutes. Meanwhile, the mayor of Kansas City said his sister recently waited five minutes on the line while his mother was incapacitated.
Nearly every city with delays reports the same problem: a shortage of workers at 911 centers. It’s an issue industry experts say has grown worse since the pandemic.
“What we’re seeing, on average, is somewhere around a 30% staffing shortage for the 911 profession,” said April Heinze, the 911 & PSAP Operations Director for the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).
Last year, more than 100 emergency call centers reported that at least half of their positions were unfilled, according to a survey by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED). The report also found nearly 4,000 people left their jobs across the more than 700 emergency call centers surveyed.
And it’s not easy to replace those people.
Applicants have to undergo rigorous background checks and other screenings to ensure they can handle the high-stress job. Once hired, new employees face a lengthy training process.
“Depending on the area, it may take anywhere from three to 18 months of on-the-job training to be fully trained,” Heinze said.
What’s driving the shortage
Those who left the profession cited stress, low pay and work hours among their top reasons, according to the IAED survey.
Ty Wooten, the director of government affairs for the IAED, says the staffing shortage has had a compounding effect with more people working overtime.
“It becomes a cyclical problem — short staff leads to more short staff because people get burned out,” he said.
At the same time, Wooten and Heinze said wages haven’t kept up with the demands of the job.
In 2021, the median annual pay for public safety telecommunicators, which includes 911 operators and fire dispatchers, was $46,670, or $22.40 per hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“We are fighting against other industries that are raising their salaries and wages,” said Wooten. “Local governments are constrained by how much money they can spend.”
Some states are enacting laws to address the shortage.
Lawmakers in Indiana recently passed a bill that prevents localities from requiring 911 dispatchers to live in the area where they work. The hope is that fewer restrictions will lead to a wider pool of applicants.
A recent state law in Illinois reclassified “emergency medical dispatchers” as first responders, which allows them better access to mental health resources. Washington state legislators passed a similar law in 2022, which included standardized training.
Uptick in calls strain limited resources
As staff resources have dwindled, some dispatch centers have seen a rise in 911 calls, often for no reason at all.
Over the past year, emergency call centers in Oregon have seen a 40% increase in accidental 911 dialing, according to a recent report. Those mistakes can have real consequences.
“Each one of these calls ties up a call taker, who must call the number back to ensure there’s no emergency,” Frank Kuchta, the state’s 911 Program Manager, said in a release. “If those callbacks are unanswered, an officer must locate the caller and check on their welfare.”
The Oregon Department of Emergency Management said the growing list of safety features on smart devices like phones, watches and tablets are partially to blame.
Sherriff’s departments in Minnesota and Illinois have also reported a recent uptick in 911 misdials due to emergency functions on smart devices.
For folks who do accidentally call, Heinze said it’s important to stay on the line and clarify that you’re OK. Otherwise, resources may be sent to help.
Even without misdials, Wooten said cell phones have led to more calls in general, pointing out that close to 90% of 911 calls are now made off mobile devices.
“When you have an incident that occurs on an interstate — where there’s hundreds of people already looking at that incident and making that phone call — it does increase the number of calls that we are receiving,” he said.
For now, emergency dispatchers are trying to keep up with an estimated 240 million 911 calls made in the U.S. each year.
Despite the recent challenges, Heinze emphasized how rewarding the profession can be.
“The amount of people you help on a day-in and day-out basis is actually quite profound,” she said. “You help people in their worst times.”