Cell Phone Emergency Has a Hollow Ring

Re “Dialing for Help on Cell Phone Is a Crapshoot,” by Steve Lopez, Oct. 22: My brother is dead from oxygen deprivation due to delays from the cellular 911 system. He collapsed in West Hollywood last Thursday from acute asthma, and good citizens tried to help by using cell phones to call 911. They were put on hold, cut off, put into a Spanish program. Although he was only 11/2 blocks from the West Hollywood fire station, response time was over 10 minutes due to cellular delay in contacting the paramedics. Once they were contacted, the Fire Department was there in three minutes. But too much time had elapsed by then. He could have survived with a faster response.

The first question from the paramedics and the emergency room personnel was, “How much time was he without oxygen?” Response: “Too much.” Laws must be passed to change the current system. Lives are at stake!

Joyce Griffin

San Pedro

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I think that any call to 911 is not an emergency unless the response requires a policeman, fireman or ambulance. Anyone with half a brain who knows how to dial 911 also knows how it should be used.

A $500 fine must be levied on all nonemergency calls. The system is in place to record the names of the persons making the calls. All it takes is for the Legislature to act. We don’t have to wait until 2005 to get a working 911 system.

Milton Tynan

Beverly Hills