Don’t call 911 accidentally, police warn

By Denissa Palmer

BELLEVILLE – Central Hastings Ontario Provincial Police are advising residents to be extremely careful not to make non-emergency 911 calls.

Since the start of this month, the detachment has responded to two non-emergency 911 phone calls, according to Const. Alana Deubel, the community-services officer. On Monday there was a 911 hang-up phone call from a home on Highway 7 east of Marmora. Officers discovered that a six-year-old child had been playing with an inactive cellphone and hit the emergency number accidentally.

Four days earlier, officers received a call from a 59-year-old Madoc woman looking for a local bank number, Deubel said.

Because this has been an ongoing issue, more steps are being taken to urge residents to remain cautious with these types of calls, she said.

“Sometimes it’s accidental pocket dialing from a motorist’s cellphone, and even several calls from landline home phones. But we have received calls about hydro outages in the past, and even more recently, one about a local bank number. People need to realize that this line is for emergencies only,” Deubel said.

Residents are reminded that an emergency is any situation in which the safety of a person or property is at risk, and in which you need immediate assistance. Examples of 911 emergencies include fire, a crime in progress or a medical crisis.

The OPP has a list of steps to take to ensure you aren’t making accidental 911 phone calls:

• Lock mobile phones by using the keypad lock feature. If your mobile device has a 911 auto-dial feature, you may be able to disable it. Check the user manual to see if your phone has this ability.
• Don’t place your cellphone in a position where keys can be accidentally pressed. Use a case or holster to protect it when you put it away.
• Do not let children play with household phones or old cellphones. If a phone has a battery in it, even if it doesn’t have a contract or service or it’s out of minutes, it can still dial 911.