Ian Uro, a 6-Year-Old Boy Dies in Manhattan After Bungled 911 Call Sends EMTs to Brooklyn

A six year old Manhattan boy may have lost his life Thursday because of a horrifying 911 call mix-up. According to the NY Post, firefighters and medics rushed to answer call of a child in cardiac arrest at 277 Ave. C at 9:04 a.m. It turns out they were sent to Avenue C in Brooklyn instead of Manhattan. By the time they found the right address and got to the apartment at 9:22 a.m., the child was dead. The FDNY has launched an investigation.

The NYPD said it received a 911 call from a hysterical woman who had given her address, but not the borough. Cops said that the operator tried to establish the cross streets, but the caller was too distraught to respond.

EMTs arrived at the Brooklyn address at 9:10 am -- and determined they were in the wrong place. A dispatcher called the incoming number back and asked the mom where she was. "She said, 'I'm here, I'm here . . . he's bleeding from the nose," and pleaded with them to hurry," a source said. The dispatcher finally determined she was in Manhattan. The NYPD said the woman called 911 again at 9:16 a.m. and told them where she was. Source: NY Post

I thought the emergency system had an automatic call tracking device that would tell them where the call was coming from, especially if it was made from a landline? The NYPD was quick to state that the bungle wasn't due to problems that has plagued it with the controversial Unified Call Taking system, which was implemented last year, according to the NY Post. Under the new system, callers can speak only to 911 operators and not to fire dispatchers.

UPDATE#1: It is being reported by the New York Post that operator error led to the delay in helping getting to the child. The NYPD operator who sent an ambulance to the wrong borough mistakenly hit "the wrong button" on the dispatch computer, officials acknowledged yesterday.Yeah, I see a lawsuit against the city in the very near future. I wish they would release the name of the operator, instead of keeping it under wraps.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/wrong_button_fatal_euj0aMvXpWcqw3MYO4RwAM#ixzz0g5gd3AZ3