p2pnet - rss feed: Toddler dies after VoIP 911 failure
p2pnet news | Off Topic:- A little boy in Calgary, Alberta, died after his parents’ VoIP 911 went to a different city.
The family called the emergency telephone number after discovering their 18-month-old son unconscious and having trouble breathing, says the CBC, going on:
“Their call was answered by a call centre not in Calgary but in the city where their internet phone service provider is based. It’s unclear why, but the call was not forwarded to Calgary’s 911 call centre.
“The family waited 15 to 20 minutes for an ambulance, then asked a next-door neighbour to call the emergency phone number from his land line.”
An ambulance arrived less than six minutes later, says the story, quoting Tom Sampson, the head of Calgary’s Emergency Medical Services, as saying the family did nothing wrong, “and his heart goes out to them.”
Officials remind anyone with internet telephone service to verify the 911 policy with their providers, adds the CBC.
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CBC - Calgary toddler dies after family calls 911 on internet phone, April 30, 2008
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May 2nd, 2008 at 11:07 am
There are articles stating that they people never updated their E911 profile with their Calgary address…. so while it is tragic, a large part of it is their fault.
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iMEyO-S-sWxtdkwE2HDgq-qi-XgA
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Mistakes happen. It’s not THEIR fault, it wasn’t deliberate. There’s many contributing factors in this and any other tragedy. Internet telephony should not be relied on though in an emergency. If we can’t use another type then go to a neighbours or call a friend to make the call.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Sadly, it usually takes an accidental tragedy like this one to make everyone on a new system, aware of exactly what can go wrong in an emergency situation.
Now that we know, I hope that anyone on a system like this one can quickly get this type of error remedied before anyone else has to die.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
It’s a parents’ right and a parents’ obligation to act in the best interest of their children. The parents are suppose to ensure the other people have correct information so if emergencies occur, then the authorities can act appropriately. Not updating one’s address and other vital information can not be blamed on others when others act on the information given to them. These parents should be charged with the cause of their infant’s death. If the parent’s have the ability to read the english or french language, and yes, apparantly in Canada, one can now graduate functionally illiterate, there was no reason for them not understand the importance of this as Voip providers clearly state this in the contract and ensure that you fill in the E911 information.