BOISE - No matter how big or small your emergency, Ada County dispatchers are only three digits away from getting you help.

Trained 911 operators such as Tim Simmonds answer nearly 400,000 calls each year, about 130,000 of those are emergencies.

"It could be a child crying that's lost and you go to that soft voice to help them," Simmonds said. "The very next call you get someone on there that's screaming and yelling."

But sometimes when the 911 line rings, there isn't always a person in need on the other end.

Sometimes it's a fax machine - or, no one at all.

Most people don't know that a de-activated cell phone can still dial 911. And if your phone is activated, dispatchers say, purses, pockets and kids' fingers are the culprit of most misdials.

Candace Sigler, operator, spent two minutes calling back a 911 misdial from a local bank.

"So we'll do a 911 welfare check," Sigler said.

She then sent an officer to make sure the location was clear.

Dispatch: "911, do you need police, paramedic or fire?
Caller: "No I never called 911."

The time it takes dispatchers to answer fake, accidental, or calls treating 911 like it's 411, can take minutes away from a real emergency.



"Every time you call 911, it could be your mother, your grandmother having a heart attack on a line that we're tied up on, giving you directions to the bank," Simmonds said.

Joshua Allen, a dispatcher, remembers an accidental call from a father going to the bathroom.

"The dad yelled at the kid to run away and get out of there, and there was open line all the way through the toilet flushing," Allen said.

Caller: "Oh, oh dear. My guess is some kid was trying to call a parent and we had to dial nine. We probably just messed up."

"We have to try and find where that phone is coming from, because we don't know if it's a real emergency or not," Simmonds said.

And when it's a prank...

"To a point it makes me angry, because I don't think the kids playing on the phones and calling 911 and joking around and hanging up - it really takes a lot of time," Simmonds said.

The minutes it takes to answer this...

Dispatch: "Hi can you hear me? This is actually 911 sir. Your phone dialed. Do you have an emergency?"

Are minutes that could have been used to save a life.

Dispatch: "911, do you need police, fire or paramedics?"

Lynn Hightower, Boise police spokesperson, says you can face charges for filing a false police report, which could mean a fine and jail time.

But she says, if you accidently dials 911, depending on the circumstance, you won't typically be required to pay for emergency services.