SHAWANO, WI- While many people have the next few days off, it will be a busy weekend for dispatch. Bill McGlyn, Communications Supervisor for Shawano County says their dispatch team fields lots of calls over the Fourth of July weekend.
“We get a lot of firework calls, that is always a big thing this weekend.”
McGlyn says while the fireworks disturbances are an issue, they are not always responded to on the Fourth of July.
“The fireworks complaints are a case by case situation,” McGlyn says. “We don’t always respond to all of those calls, but they are a low priority for us and if we can get to them we will, but if we are out responding to other calls, those come first.”
Recently, Shawano County Dispatch has been receiving 911 pocket dials or misdials and McGlyn says having a high number of people in Shawano County this weekend, increases the chances of that happening more. He says the problem is with the new I-phone.
“If it pushes a couple of buttons on the side of the phone it automatically dials 911.”
He says while it is not always preventable, there are some steps that people can take to make the situation easier for dispatch.
“A big thing with that is that if your phone does happen to dial 911 by mistake, stay on the line and answer the questions for the dispatcher so we can clear the call and not have to waste resources trying to find out where the call came from.”
McGlyn says compliance with deputies and dispatch always help the situation go better.
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