SCDF Responds to Alleged Incident Whereby 995 Responder Hung Up on Caller Due to Caller’s Tone

By
Hannah Koh
-

In an emergency, time is essential. But so are details of the location and situation.

Unfortunately, some people become on edge and are high-strung, which can result in unpleasant interactions between caller and responder.

Slammed Responder in Facebook Post

On Sunday (8 May), Pam Kaur made a post on Facebook, detailing a conversation between her and a 995 responder.

The user recounted witnessing an accident at 2.40am that morning where a drunk driver collided with a motorcyclist on the Central Expressway before the Braddell Road exit.

As an eyewitness to the whole scene, she dialled 995 to report the accident.

The responder asked where her location was and for the number of the lamppost closest to her. After taking all the details, the responder allegedly called back again to ask for the lamppost number.

“This was infuriating. It stinks of incompetence, lack of urgency and stupidity,” the user wrote in her post.

She told the responder that because of her “listening problem”, by the time the ambulance arrived at the scene, the motorcyclist would have died.

Responder Allegedly Hung Up

You would expect the emergency responder to let the comment go.

However, she allegedly replied, “I don’t like your tone. I don’t like the way you are speaking to me.” And then hung up.

The user admitted that she had “snapped” at the responder. She then added, “But aren’t you trained to deal with frantic calls which may sometimes involve people losing patience with you?”

Join our Telegram channel for more entertaining and informative articles at https://t.me/goodyfeedsg or download the Goody Feed app here: https://goodyfeed.com/app/ 

SCDF Looking Into Incident

The original post has since been deleted but a repost has garnered over 140 comments and more than 250 shares.

Many Facebook users pointed out that there appear to be two sides to the story. Others commented that it was better to clarify the details than to send the emergency response to the wrong location.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it is currently looking into the incident.

“SCDF is aware of a social media post highlighting the manner in which one of our personnel handled a phone call clarifying the location of a road traffic accident. SCDF is looking into the matter,” said SCDF.

Read Also:

Featured Image: Facebook (Pam Kaur)

Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:

Read Also:

Advertisements
 
Hannah Koh
Email: [email protected]