5-10 min. delay for 911

I'm not trying to scare anyone, just informing in case you were'nt aware of this issue.

Some of you may already know this and/or it may not apply to you if you don't live in a super crowded city like L.A. You should check the hold time for your area.

You may have a home phone, but many people do not anymore, they have 1 phone and it' a cell phone. This mostly applies to unmarried people and/or people in their 20's. Married people often have a home phone and each their own cell phone. Still, remember to call 911 from a home phone or pay phone, if possible.

Can you imagine the horror/panic of having someone break in your home or some other emergency and you pick up your cell phone to call 911, but you're placed on hold for 5-10 min., and during this time the attackers found you and/or loved one/s and seriously injured or killed you/them and since there isn't technology for 911 to track the location of cell phones, no one ever knows what happened, unless you live long enough to endure the hold time.

It was a shocking wake up call for me and inspired me to pay almost $35 a month for a home phone [hoping to also decrease minutes/plan for my cell phone].

This is how I found out about this scary crisis:

I saw and walked past a VERY, VERY SMELLY homeless man a few months ago and wanted to get him some medical attention, and I didn't know who else to call, so I called 911. I was on hold for 5-10 min. and I was SHOCKED. When the operator came on the line, I asked him why there was such a delay for an "emergency line" where people are getting robbed, attacked, experiencing a heart attack alone, etc.

He told me there isn't currently technology to track the location of cell phone calls to 911, so if you call on your cell phone and can't wait 5-10 min. on hold, and the call is disconnected because you die of a heart attack or someone breaks in and you bleed to death, no one will ever know you called.

He also said the only solution is to call 911 from a LAND LINE [home phone or pay phone]. I don't recall if there is still a 5-10 min. wait, there probably is, but the point is that you can call and hang up and they will be able to track your location to help you.

My home phone is installed this Thurs. I live alone, and not in the safest neighborhood, and some weirdo knocked on my door repeatedly for several minutes late a few nights ago, so I think it's worth it. I used to have pepper spray too and don't know where it is, so I want to get some again. I carrried it on my keychain.

I suggest you call 911 and see how long it takes to get through. This is also disturbing if you think of being unable to get through for several minutes when driving through the L.A. area and you have a car accident. Yeah, other people will call 911 if you can't, but it may take 5-10 minutes to get through.

Why isn't this info on the news or Oprah???

Love, Lis'
http://www.lisaclor.com/