An Apple Factory Has Sent Over 1,500 Calls to 911
Life as a 911 dispatcher is usually pretty stressful no matter where you are, but dispatchers in Elk Grove, California likely have it worse than most. Not only do they have to contend with the normal parts of the job, they also have to deal with the hundreds of accidental 911 calls from iPhones being refurbished at a nearby Apple factory.
A report from CBS Sacramento reveals that since October, phones at Apple’s main repair and refurbishment facility have accidentally called emergency services over 1,500 times. This averages out to around 20 per day, which emergency workers say takes valuable time away from real emergencies.
“The times when it’s greatly impacting us is when we have other emergencies happening,” said Elk Grove police dispatcher Jamie Hudson to CBS Sacramento. “We may have a dispatcher on another 911 call that may have to put that call on hold to triage the incoming call.”
Apple has not indicated whether the devices making the calls are iPhones or Apple watches, as either is capable of calling 911 with only a few button presses. It’s also not clear just how so many 911 calls keep getting placed, but Apple issued a statement saying they are “working closely with local law enforcement to investigate the cause and ensure this doesn’t continue.”
There’s also no answer from Apple on how it allowed more than a thousand calls to be placed to 911 over a period of several months without taking action. There’s also no indication of how much the accidental calls impacted the Elk Grove emergency workers’ ability to do their jobs. Hopefully Apple and the local law enforcement can figure out what is going on and how to stop it.
Source: CBS Sacramento
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