E-Comm鈥檚 911 dispatchers are reaching out to the public with their top 10 examples of calls they received in 2017 that unnecessarily tied-up emergency lines.
And the one the tops this year鈥檚 list: Calling the emergency line to complain that a nail salon won鈥檛 change a nail polish colour.
That call, fielded by Christie Duncan is just one example of the non-emergency calls plaguing B.C.鈥檚 largest call centre.
鈥淪pending time on calls like these takes me away from being available to help someone who is a serious emergency situation,鈥� Duncan said.
鈥淎nd believe it or not, this isn鈥檛 the first time I鈥檝e received a call about the colour of nail polish.鈥�
Other 2017 top reasons to not call 911 include:
2. Car refusing to move forward at a gas station pump
3. To report food was inedible and restaurant refusing to provide refund
4. Complaining tenant moved without returning keys
5. Calling because someone parked in their parking spot
6. Wondering if a washroom closed sign at a popular beach was legitimate
7. Complaining gas station wouldn鈥檛 accept coins for payment
8. Calling to ask if raccoons are dangerous animals
9. Asking if there鈥檚 a law preventing washing clothes at 6 a.m.
10. Calling to check the time following the fall time change
This year鈥檚 best-of-the-worst may be laughable, but are more common than you might think, said Jody Robertson, executive director of corporate communications.
鈥淭he fact is 鈥� every time a 911 call taker handles one of these calls, we waste valuable resources. We鈥檙e asking the public to help us help,鈥� Robertson said.
WATCH: One-in-five 911 calls are 鈥榥on-emergencies鈥�: E-Comm
The list follows a new campaign by the emergency communications centre, that found one-in-five calls for police aren鈥檛 actually an emergency. The campaign is urging B.C. residents to consider how they may be letting non-emergency calls get in the way of real ones.
E-Comm receives approximately 1.36 million calls every year, and Robertson is reminding the public that 911 is for police, fire or medical emergencies when immediate action is needed and calling non-emergency lines for calls like this is also not appropriate.
