Enhanced 9-1-1 Success Stories

2017
October 24 Woman experiencing severe allergic reaction texts 911 for assistance – County of Kauai

At about 1:56 p.m., Kaua’i Dispatch received a text to 911 message from a female subject requesting an ambulance. The subject further texted what her location was and that she was having an allergic reaction. She had swollen lips, it was hard for her to speak and she was about to pass out. The dispatcher was able to send an ambulance to the location and the subject was transported via ambulance to the hospital. This is an excellent example of how the text to 911 service is essential to better servicing the entire community including those who are speech impaired whether it be temporarily or permanent. Text to 911 and the quick actions of Kauaˋi Emergency Service Dispatcher Souci Sayegusa may have saved a life but definitely brought needed medical assistance in this case.

2016
January 20 Four Rescued at ‘Anini Beach – County of Kauai

https://www.kauai.gov/Portals/0/Mayor/PIO/NR1-20-16OSB.pdf?ver=2016-01-20-164013-530

2015
November 28 Couple Rescued In Windy Seas Off Maui – County of Maui
https://www.staradvertiser.com/breaking-news/couple-rescued-in-windy-seas-off-maui/Courtesy of Honolulu Star-Advertiser
November 2015 Young Makaha Shark Victim Thanks Paramedics Who Helped Save His Life – County of Honolulu https://khon2.com/2015/11/03/young-makaha-shark-attack-victim-thanks-paramedics-who-helped-save-his-life/
October 15 Visitor Lost – Then Found – Near Ulupalakua – County of Maui
https://mauitvnews.com/blog/tag/coeur-dalene/
October 12 Upstream Downpours Catch Teens Unaware – County of Maui

https://mauitvnews.com/blog/2015/10/12/upstream-downpours-catch-teens-unaware/
October 1 County of Hawaii – Hilo Police and Fire received a call from the upper Wainaku area involving a female on someone’s lawn yelling for help. The reporting party was not very cooperative in giving directions to this area and the home was several hundred feet in from the main road with only trees surrounding it, obscuring it from view.  No address /mailbox was posted and there was an unpaved and unnamed dirt road in-between some trees that encircled a large area of land before leading to the home.  This information was only available using the Pictometry/Mapflex imagery, as the responding Police and Fire units were unable to locate the home via normal means.   The woman was found on the lawn and in need of psychiatric help.  She was transported to the Hilo Medical Center without further incident.
August 30 County of Hawaii – Hawaii Police received a 911 call from a wireless phone from the wife of an intoxicated male.  The male was threatening to kill himself but, the wife was unable to provide her location or directions to where they were located.  Using the coordinates provided from the cell phone on the Intrado Map, the call taker was able to find a location/home in the Captain Cook Area where officers and medics responded to and apprehended the male safely with no harm done to himself. 
September 22 County of Hawaii – Hilo Police received a call of an attempted suicide in progress from a man in the Waikoloa area whose mother in law was threatening to hurt herself with a knife.  The reporting party gave his address incorrectly and there was no Automatic Location Identification for this particular call, however the call did plot into the Intrado Mapflex with Pictometry imagery showing the home where the call came from, allowing the dispatcher to give a description and correct address of the home.  This allowed officers to respond quickly and get to the correct home.  Officers arrived to help the woman with no harm being done to herself.
July 8 County of Hawaii – A female called 911 stating she received an emergency text message saying “Call 911” from her elderly brother.   The brother’s phone was set up with a type of application on that phone that allows an emergency message to be sent to their contact of choice when prompted.   The sister relayed to the call taker the latitude and longitude that happened to be a part of this message and the Dispatcher was able to send both Police and Medical to the brother’s location.  The elderly brother turned out to be perfectly fine and had sent the message accidentally to his sister.  Both siblings were happy that they received prompt emergency service and that they were able to be located utilizing the latitude and longitude information.  This feature seems to be specific to the Samsung Galaxy phones at the moment but the Dispatchers were pleased they had the mapping system available to use the coordinates given.
June 5 Hale Koa Guest Returns to Thank Those Who Saved His Life – County of Honolulu https://www.hawaiiarmyweekly.com/2015/06/05/hale-koa-guest-returns-to-thank-those-who-saved-his-life/

Courtesy of U.S. Army Garrison – Hawaii
February 7 Maui Fire Department Crews, Air-1 To the Rescue…Twice! – County of Maui https://mauitvnews.com/blog/2015/02/07/mfd-crews-air-1-to-the-rescue-twice/
January 30 Hikers Rescued After Night of Being Lost in Kahaualea Forest Reserve – County of Hawaii https://www.hawaii247.com/2015/01/31/hikers-rescued-after-night-of-being-lost-in-kahaualea-forest-reserve/

2014
October 26 Hikers Are Rescued From Forest Reserve in Volcano – County of Hawaii

https://www.hawaii247.com/2014/10/26/hikers-are-rescued-from-forest-reserve-in-volcano/
August 4 Eight Rescued After Boat Sinks Fast Off Hawaii

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/8-rescued-after-boat-sinks-fast-off-hawaii/

2012
January 1-31 County of Kauai performed a Database Synchronization of their MSAG and GIS Databases. Kauai County’s level of accuracy or 9-1-1 Match percentage increased from 95.4% as of October 01, 2011 to 98.7% as of January 01, 2012. This marks the first time in the State of Hawaii History that a PSAP has obtained the minimum match rate of 98%.
January 3-6 County of Kauai locates an AT&T Mobility non-initialized handset. The PSAP, using exigent circumstances, located the former owner who advised that they threw the handset away. The PSAP dispatcher using their trained questioning procedures discovered that the child was at a local school and dispatched a police officer who located the child and confiscated the handset.
September 17 Chopper Rescues Maile Pickers Lost In Volcano Forest – County of Hawaii

https://bigislandnow.com/2012/09/17/chopper-rescues-maile-pickers-lost-in-volcano-forest/
2011
January 6 County of Maui shares with the other PSAPs the published (via a news article) Molokai 9-1-1 call recording of a caller who lost control of his car. The recording provided an example of one Molokai dispatcher’s ability to effectively assist the 9-1-1 caller and radio at the same time. The recording can also be used as a Dispatcher training tool for the other PSAPs.
September 21-30 Counties of Hawaii, Kauai, Maui, and Honolulu City & County participated in the 2011 NG 9-1-1 Technology Forum was hosted by the APCO/NENA Pacific Chapter on September 26 – 27, 2011. The purpose of the forum was to provide an educational opportunity for the State of Hawaii 9-1-1 public safety community, respective islands/county leadership, and lawmakers. The goal was to develop an understanding of Federal, State, and County requirements in order to develop a collective vision for the State of Hawaii’s Next Generation 9-1-1 technology. There were approximately 125 attendees with twenty-five (25) presenters of various topics ranging from a basic overview of NG 9-1-1, NG9-1-1 Security, FCC Accessibility, Commercial Mobile Alert System, NG9-1-1 Data/GIS, and Project Management/Planning/Transition to NG9-1-1. There was also an opportunity for the 9-1-1 PSAPs to ask questions and make comments during a round table discussion. Special awards were also presented to Congresswoman Mazie Hirono and Governor Neil Abercrombie for their support of 9-1-1 services.
November 10-11 County of Hawai’i contacted Patrick Donovan of the FCC for guidance with regards to retrieving location information for callers regarding non-initialized telephones who make numerous calls to 9-1-1. Mr. Donovan contacted Mr. John Garner from AT&T Mobility who provided additional information.

2010
September 25 County of Maui News Release – Maui Police Department received a 9-1-1 call from a wireless caller who stated he was lost and had three children with him. Utilizing the Wireless E9-1-1 system, the dispatch center was able to locate the position of the caller and direct the Fire Department Search and Rescue Teams to his location.
December 18 County of Maui News Release- Molokai highway drama ends safely. A 19-year old driver lost control of his vehicle when the accelerator froze and the vehicle began to pick up speed. The driver was not able to shut off the engine and the driver’s vehicle started barreling at 70 mph toward the island’s most populous town. The driver called 9-1-1 for assistance and received help from a police officer who was heading in the opposite direction, which happened to be the driver’s cousin. The Police Officer thinking smartly was able to turn his vehicle around, pull in front of the run-a-way vehicle and utilize his police vehicle to bring the run-a-way vehicle to a safe stop. Fortunately, the driver and police officer did not sustain any injuries.
December 28 County of Hawaii News Release – A Hawai`i County rescue helicopter rescued two women, ages 31 and 20, who got lost on a trail to Pu`u `O`o volanco. The women wandered into the rain forest and were not able to get back on the main trail. Luckily they were able to call 9-1-1 from their wireless phone and the helicopter located the women. Both women were rescued within less than an hour and ten minutes and fortunately were not injured.
May 18 Police Track Down Kidnapping Suspects Using Enhanced 911 System – County of Honolulu

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/12505209/police-track-down-kidnapping-suspects-using-enhanced-911-system

 

2009
January 5 County of Maui News Release – Maui Police Department utilized the Wireless E9-1-1 mapping system to determine the location of a wireless E9-1-1 caller who called the PSAP and reported that she had stabbed her boyfriend. The alert dispatcher was able to reference the location of the wireless caller and using the CAD system had identified an address with a history of past domestic violence complaints. When the Police officers arrived, they discovered the victim (a male) laying in a pool of blood and identified the person responsible as his live-in girlfriend before losing consciousness. An All-Point Bulletin was issued and the responsible party was arrested for MURDER II (ATTEMPTED).
June 6 County of Kauai News Release – A local hunter was found atop Koke’e after he called 9-1-1 on his cell phone to report that he was lost. Through the Enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) system, police dispatch was able to immediately locate the call on a large scale map and report the latitude and longitude of the lost hunter to firefighters from the Waimea station. The 71-year old Wailua man was safe and unharmed. A life was saved due to the technological advances with the E9-1-1 system.
June 28 County of Kauai News Release – Two local teens stuck on a cliff on the mountain commonly known as Sleeping Giant were safely rescued after contacting Police Dispatch via their cell phone. Engine 2, Truck 2, Rescue 3 and Air-1 responded to the call. Dispatch was able to provide the rescue team with map coordinates of the hikers using the E9-1-1 system and allowing them to zero in on the general location of the hikers.
July 21 County of Hawaii News Release – Hawaii Fire personnel airlifted a lost hiker to safety from a forested area in Kalapana. The hiker, a 22-year old man, used his cell phone to call of help. Fortunately, fire rescuers were able to locate and pick up the hiker before nightfall. The hiker had no shirt, water or food.
September 22 County of Maui News Release – Maui Police Department received a wireless call but nobody responded. The dispatcher could hear voices in the background and considered one of the voice threatening. Utilizing the wireless system, the dispatcher was able to locate and track the location of the cell phone from Kihei, Maui to the airport and dispatch police to investigate. The victim was able to escape; however the police were able to locate and arrest the two suspects leaving the area.
October 22 County of Kauai assisted in locating a Verizon prepaid cell phone that was making repeated prank calls to 9-1-1. Since the prepaid cell phone ran out of minutes, the dispatchers were not able to ringback the cell phone. With the assistance of Verizon Wireless, the dispatch supervisor was able to locate the cell phone and residence. Police were dispatched and the situation was resolved.
December 16 County of Maui News Release – Maui Police Department received a wireless call from an FAA Inspector that was involved in a plane crash just outside of the Hana, Airport. The dispatcher continued to perform rebids on the Enhanced 9-1-1 system in order to obtain a more accurate location and stayed on the call until the crash site was located 25 minutes later.