Feb 8, 2008 11:55 pm US/Eastern
Pa. Woman Who Died In Fire Put On Hold By 911
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (CBS 3) ―
-
-
An elderly Bucks County woman died in a fire after calling for help and being placed on hold.
CBS
An elderly Bucks County woman died in a fire after calling for help and being placed on hold. An investigation is underway to determine what went wrong and to prevent it from happening again.
Brenda Orr, who was disabled and had Multiple Sclerosis, called 911 on the morning of January 29 as her Doylestown home went up in flames.
The phone rang a total of seven times and Orr was put on hold by a dispatcher for 27 seconds.
911 Operator: "911, can you hold one second please?"
Orr: "I can't. This is an emergency. 911 Emergency. 340 Doyle. Bed on Fire."
It took almost a full minute from the time Orr dialed 911 before another operator picked up the line. Then there was confusion with the dispatcher whether Orr lived in the borough or the township.
The dispatcher then asked Orr a question.
911 Operator: "Are you still in the house? Are you still in the house?"
Orr: "Yes."
911: "Well, you wanna get out of the house?"
Orr: "No, I'm disabled."
Orr: "The bed is fully inflamed."
Doylestown Borough Police Chief James Donnelly spoke with CBS 3 and wondered if the missing minute would have made a difference.
"That woman's wife was taken in the fire, we lost a minute but I can't truly say that that minute, if we would have recovered it, would have saved her life," Donnelly said.
The Bucks County Commissioners released a statement that read in part: "The investigation disclosed that internal practices were not followed. Corrective action was taken, including staff retraining."
The official cause of the fire remains under investigation, but it was known that Orr would often smoke in her bed.
CBS3.com Editor's Picks:
WATCH: Husband Turns In Wife
SEE: Celebrities Who Died Too Young
READ: Child Allegedly Used In Pick-Pocket Scheme
WATCH: Police Arrest 'Fake Cop'
READ: Tony & Jessica Spotted Frolicking In Hawaii
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
