OAK PARK : Pac Bell Working to End 911 Confusion
Pacific Bell will reprogram its computers to avoid future mix-ups involving emergency 911 calls from Oak Park, which have been mistakenly routed to Los Angeles County operators, a company spokesperson said Wednesday.
Some residents have complained that the problems have caused delays of several minutes in response time.
On Tuesday, administrators at Oak Hills Elementary School said they waited about 15 minutes for firefighters to respond to a call concerning a student who was suffering an asthma attack.
Principal Anthony Knight said the school’s 911 call was routed to a fire station in Agoura Hills, more than 5 miles away, instead of a Ventura County Fire Department station that is less than 2 miles distant.
Engines from both stations ended up responding, as well as an ambulance from Pruner Health Services, which serves Ventura County.
“I’m worried because I have 620 children here, and if anything ever happens it would be frightening,” Knight said. He said the third-grader had recovered and was not taken to a hospital.
Last fall, a diabetic student at Oak Park High School collapsed from insulin shock. Principal Jeff Chancer said the Agoura Hills fire station responded to the school’s 911 call after about 20 minutes.
Residents said Oak Park is often mistakenly placed in Los Angeles County because it has a Los Angeles ZIP code and telephone area code.
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