Forks Township Looks Into 9-1-1 Mishaps

Problems with 911 cell phone calls along Route 611 and the same Route 611 addresses in several townships have prompted the Forks Township Fire Department to request that the township draft a letter to Northampton County to help resolve a potentially deadly problem.

Last night Supervisors unanimously approved having Township Manager Richard Schaedter draft a letter to the Northampton County 911 Dispatch Center requesting answers to why mix-ups continue to occur when emergency calls are made along the stretch of Route 611. Also, township Fire Chief Charles Chapman would like to see if the U.S. Postal Service could change address numbers on Route 611 to help avoid mishaps.

According to Chapman, there have been two incidents in the past six weeks where the wrong fire department has been dispatched for fires along N. Delaware Drive (Route 611).

On January 26, a fire along N. Delaware Drive totally destroyed one home displacing four people. It took 17 minutes for the township fire department to respond due to a mix-up over where the actual fire had occurred. Chapman said at that time that the initial 911 phone call was received at 2:37am, but went to Warren County, New Jersey because the call was placed from a cell phone.

“If this phone call had gone to a Northampton County cell tower or had been made from a landline there would not be any confusion on the call,” said Chapman.

The nearest cell phone tower is in Warren County so calls made from cell phones go directly to that dispatch service. Warren County has to then redirect the phone calls.

It took an additional 17 minutes before the township fire department received the call for response. By the time they arrived, the property was fully engulfed and flames were spewing through the roof.

Then on March 13, Chapman said there was another 911 dispatch mix-up after a call was received about a brush fire along N. Delaware Drive in Lower Mount Bethel Township. Once again the wrong fire department was dispatched because initial calls were made from a cell phone.

To make matters worse, often times the caller doesn’t know what town they are in and several addresses repeat throughout Forks, Upper Mount Bethel and Lower Mount Bethel along Route 611.

Chapman also suggested that the township request that the U.S. Postal Service change the addresses along Route 611 for each township so Forks Township addresses would be from 1000 to 2000 and 2000 to 3000 in Lower Mount Bethel ensuring no future mishaps.