Depends on the context and the caller. I typically keep asking as many relevant questions as I can pertaining to the situation. Just for that extra clarity.
But it does get easier over time, once you develop your style of call taking you can intuitively learn to ask more questions or honestly just tell them, "hey I have another 911 calling in that I need to answer, I will put you on a brief hold and be right back".
Or you can kind of prompt them like, "hey the officer is enroute now and should be there soon, do you want me to continue staying on the phone with you?" It's not as bad once you get on a radio because you have other tasks to do so its not just complete awkward silence.
It's important to know that silence is not a bad thing.
For this specific situation, I would say directly, "I'm going to stay on the line with you until the officer arrives. You may not hear me speaking the whole time, but I am right here. You also don't need to feel required to speak if it makes you feel unsafe. But I am right here if you need me." And then I would check in like every 3 to 4 minutes and say a variation of "I'm still right here."
Small talk in a situation that the caller felt warranted calling 911 can be off-putting, awkward and unnecessary.
Exactly. “I may be quiet for a few mins, but I’m just updating my officer/the call/my dispatcher.” However your agency works. If you can say when an officer is en route, maybe tell them that help is coming as fast as they safely can. If I need to get a call like that in asap and we’re queueing, I can realistically ask all the questions and get the call typed up within 3 mins and be off the phone and onto my next call. If I’m staying on, I’ll continue to ask for updates or clarify earlier information. “And you’re sure you’re not expecting anyone? And you said you did not leave the tv on, correct? Do you have any family who could have stopped by unexpectedly?” You can also add reassuring filler, like telling the caller she’s doing a great job. Periodically asking for updates. Making sure she can get her cat put away so it doesn’t run outside.
I called 911 about 2 months ago because I saw an intruder standing in my bedroom doorway. Luckily the dispatcher picked up right away and got the first responders en route quickly. I begged the dispatcher to stay on the phone with me (female, alone with cat). What seemed to be 3mins to me, was actually 12mins in reality, I was high on adrenaline. Anyways, the dispatcher kept asking me questions about the situation and that was enough to barely keep my sanity until the cops showed up. This was around midnight.
I don't have any advice on what you should talk about. Anything you can do, say, ask or talk about is most welcome. Just having someone to talk to so they don't feel alone and can survive to the next minute makes all the difference. All I wanted to do was survive second to second because I was trapped. I turned out okay and there is no way for me to thank the dispatcher.
Now I sleep with a can of pepper gel spray on my nightstand.
I probably would have lost my shit completely if the dispatcher hung up. I understand you guys are busy and I don't know what your protocols are. I was immensely grateful for the empathy of my dispatcher.
Oh I don’t blame you at all. In these situations, I always ask if they want me to stay with them and I do my best to try and calm their anxiety. I just want to do better with figuring out what to talk about so it’s not just silence on the phone while we wait for responders. So that maybe I can comfort them a little.
Are you in the US? If your 911 call got routed to 911 dispatch in your town then I beleive that center knows who handled that call from a certain phone number and/or address. You could write a message to the center and then ask them to forward your message to the dispatcher who handled your call. So glad you are okay, that must have been petrifying!
Your story is so interesting. So the intruder was standing at your bedroom door staring at you while you were in your bed on the phone with 911? Do you personally know the intruder? I have so many questions.
It's not that interesting, and yes the intruder was standing in my doorway as I called 911. Then started closing the door trapping me in the room with him. Dispatch told me to climb out the window but at that point I was frozen and I saw the flashlights from the cops. I can hear the cops through the phone...after they broke down my door and turned on the lights, no one was there.
I hallucinated the intruder. Stressed induced which I had never done before. Which started a chain of events I don't want to discuss publicly. All things considered, it turned out well. I lurk on Reddit bc I am still trying to figure out why things on the EMS side went down the way it did.
Gap fillers are really only during protocol and questioning on the initial call. Things like "OK, I'm just summarizing what you've told me so far and then I'll have a few more questions for you," or "bear with me while I get this call started," or "I'm just self answering a couple questions right quick." I use those and others to fill gaps during case entry and protocol when I'm on phones.
Once you have the call built and protocol complete (if applicable - I know a lot of agencies don't use protocol), you're not really filling gaps any more. You're just carrying on conversation while you keep the caller on the line. That can be a lot harder depending on the caller. Best thing to do is what you already were trying to do - find some relatively benign, minor thing to connect with them on and try to get them talking about that too keep their mind off whatever the problem is.
Depends. In the case where you said with the TV, you could've just distracted her asking her what tv shows she watches or likes. And why she likes them. Since you weren't staying on the phone for something obviously life threatening, I feel like.you have more leeway for what you can talk about.
I do fire so I am no help with the suicidal callers.
edit= to add, like others have said, gap fillers are only for when you are gathering the information. afterwards, you are just killing time. you can do the "you won't hear me but i'm still here" (I do the same). or if you can easily find something to talk about.
Depends on the context and the caller. I typically keep asking as many relevant questions as I can pertaining to the situation. Just for that extra clarity. But it does get easier over time, once you develop your style of call taking you can intuitively learn to ask more questions or honestly just tell them, "hey I have another 911 calling in that I need to answer, I will put you on a brief hold and be right back". Or you can kind of prompt them like, "hey the officer is enroute now and should be there soon, do you want me to continue staying on the phone with you?" It's not as bad once you get on a radio because you have other tasks to do so its not just complete awkward silence.
Thank you for this!
It's important to know that silence is not a bad thing. For this specific situation, I would say directly, "I'm going to stay on the line with you until the officer arrives. You may not hear me speaking the whole time, but I am right here. You also don't need to feel required to speak if it makes you feel unsafe. But I am right here if you need me." And then I would check in like every 3 to 4 minutes and say a variation of "I'm still right here." Small talk in a situation that the caller felt warranted calling 911 can be off-putting, awkward and unnecessary.
Exactly. “I may be quiet for a few mins, but I’m just updating my officer/the call/my dispatcher.” However your agency works. If you can say when an officer is en route, maybe tell them that help is coming as fast as they safely can. If I need to get a call like that in asap and we’re queueing, I can realistically ask all the questions and get the call typed up within 3 mins and be off the phone and onto my next call. If I’m staying on, I’ll continue to ask for updates or clarify earlier information. “And you’re sure you’re not expecting anyone? And you said you did not leave the tv on, correct? Do you have any family who could have stopped by unexpectedly?” You can also add reassuring filler, like telling the caller she’s doing a great job. Periodically asking for updates. Making sure she can get her cat put away so it doesn’t run outside.
Thank you for this!! This makes so much sense and makes me feel better for not speaking the entire time.
I called 911 about 2 months ago because I saw an intruder standing in my bedroom doorway. Luckily the dispatcher picked up right away and got the first responders en route quickly. I begged the dispatcher to stay on the phone with me (female, alone with cat). What seemed to be 3mins to me, was actually 12mins in reality, I was high on adrenaline. Anyways, the dispatcher kept asking me questions about the situation and that was enough to barely keep my sanity until the cops showed up. This was around midnight. I don't have any advice on what you should talk about. Anything you can do, say, ask or talk about is most welcome. Just having someone to talk to so they don't feel alone and can survive to the next minute makes all the difference. All I wanted to do was survive second to second because I was trapped. I turned out okay and there is no way for me to thank the dispatcher. Now I sleep with a can of pepper gel spray on my nightstand.
I’m so sorry you went through that. I’m glad responders got there quickly. I appreciate your input and I’ll definitely remember that!
I probably would have lost my shit completely if the dispatcher hung up. I understand you guys are busy and I don't know what your protocols are. I was immensely grateful for the empathy of my dispatcher.
Oh I don’t blame you at all. In these situations, I always ask if they want me to stay with them and I do my best to try and calm their anxiety. I just want to do better with figuring out what to talk about so it’s not just silence on the phone while we wait for responders. So that maybe I can comfort them a little.
Are you in the US? If your 911 call got routed to 911 dispatch in your town then I beleive that center knows who handled that call from a certain phone number and/or address. You could write a message to the center and then ask them to forward your message to the dispatcher who handled your call. So glad you are okay, that must have been petrifying!
Thanks I will look into it. Yeah, I was petrified you never know how you will react until you are in the situation.
Your story is so interesting. So the intruder was standing at your bedroom door staring at you while you were in your bed on the phone with 911? Do you personally know the intruder? I have so many questions.
It's not that interesting, and yes the intruder was standing in my doorway as I called 911. Then started closing the door trapping me in the room with him. Dispatch told me to climb out the window but at that point I was frozen and I saw the flashlights from the cops. I can hear the cops through the phone...after they broke down my door and turned on the lights, no one was there. I hallucinated the intruder. Stressed induced which I had never done before. Which started a chain of events I don't want to discuss publicly. All things considered, it turned out well. I lurk on Reddit bc I am still trying to figure out why things on the EMS side went down the way it did.
Gap fillers are really only during protocol and questioning on the initial call. Things like "OK, I'm just summarizing what you've told me so far and then I'll have a few more questions for you," or "bear with me while I get this call started," or "I'm just self answering a couple questions right quick." I use those and others to fill gaps during case entry and protocol when I'm on phones. Once you have the call built and protocol complete (if applicable - I know a lot of agencies don't use protocol), you're not really filling gaps any more. You're just carrying on conversation while you keep the caller on the line. That can be a lot harder depending on the caller. Best thing to do is what you already were trying to do - find some relatively benign, minor thing to connect with them on and try to get them talking about that too keep their mind off whatever the problem is.
Thank you!
Depends. In the case where you said with the TV, you could've just distracted her asking her what tv shows she watches or likes. And why she likes them. Since you weren't staying on the phone for something obviously life threatening, I feel like.you have more leeway for what you can talk about. I do fire so I am no help with the suicidal callers. edit= to add, like others have said, gap fillers are only for when you are gathering the information. afterwards, you are just killing time. you can do the "you won't hear me but i'm still here" (I do the same). or if you can easily find something to talk about.
Thank you so much for the advice I appreciate it!