SCDF Explains What Happened on the Call Whereby the Responder Hanged up on the Caller

People hanging up your calls on you, while uncommon, isn’t unheard of. However, there’s a group of people in Singapore that should never hang up on you: emergency hotline responders.

So what happens if you heard about the recent 995 call incident where a responder allegedly hung up on a caller after saying she “doesn’t like the caller’s tone“?

Yes, I get you; but as the Goody Feed’s resident blue cat likes to say, nothing’s set in ston-

…

What do you mean I got the wrong saying-

Anyway, here’s what happened.

Facebook User Complains About How SCDF Responder Handled A 995 Call

On 8 May, a Facebook user Pam Kaur took to the Facebook page Singapore Roads accident.com to complain about the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

He said that a call was made to the emergency hotline to report a traffic accident involving a car and a motorcyclist.

The user said that the SCDF responder allegedly showed “a lack of urgency”, and even called back a second to confirm the location.

That was after the caller had told the location several times over the first call, including the number of the nearest lamp post.

The SCDF officer then allegedly hung up on the call after saying she doesn’t like the caller’s tone.

SCDF Explains What Happened on the Call Whereby the Responder Hanged up on the Caller

I know what you’re thinking; is that true? Well, you’re not the only one curious, and SCDF investigated the feedback immediately.

In a Facebook post on 14 May 2022, SCDF explains what really happened.

The incident happened on 8 May 2022 at 2:37 am. A call was made to report the accident located along the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) towards Changi before Exit 8B.

When asked for the nearest lamppost number, the caller said it was 370F.

The SCDF responder tried to verify the location a second time, to which the caller replied: “My exit towards Changi but I’m going straight towards CTE, but the lamppost number is 370F.”

No Accident Found

An SCDF ambulance was dispatched to the reported location but couldn’t locate the accident.

That was when the paramedic in the ambulance made the second call to the caller to verify the exit and lamppost number.

The caller was seemingly frustrated with the paramedic and made snide remarks; that was when the paramedic said she was uncomfortable with the caller’s tone and disengaged to direct the crew’s attention.

It was only after a different caller made a report on the same accident that they established the accident’s location.

It was along the Central Expressway (CTE) towards Seletar Expressway (SLE), before the PIE exit.

This time, an SCDF ambulance arrived within eight minutes and conveyed a man to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Use SCDF’s myResponder App To Make Calls

While SCDF lauds the public-spiritedness of callers who stopped to assist and call 995, they ask for the public’s understanding of their protocols:

We would like to highlight that it is an established and sound procedure for 995 call centre operators to ask callers for key information such as prominent landmarks, building names, expressways, road names and lamppost numbers, especially when there is no specific address.

At times, we may also need to further clarify the information, particularly when our responders are unable to locate the reported incident. We seek the public’s understanding and patience about this.

In the future, callers can also consider using SCDF’s myResponder app to call 995; it has geolocation technology which will help SCDF respond quicker and more accurately.

Meanwhile, public sentiments are (unsurprisingly) against the complainant, and many harsh comments were delivered against “Pam Kaur”.

You can read their Facebook post in full below:

Read Also:

• SCDF Responds to Alleged Incident Whereby 995 Responder Hung Up on Caller Due to Caller’s Tone
• SCDF Officers Rescued 3 People from Shopping Mall Lift Through Pulleys & Ropes
• Driver Had to be Rescued By SCDF Officers After Lorry Was Submerged in a Flash Flood at Old Chua Chu Kang Road

Feature Image: Jordan Tan/ shutterstock.com (Image for illustration purpose only)