BROOKVILLE – A misdirected cell phone call for a Washington Township, Jefferson County, did not delay a response to a fatal house fire Thursday.
An early-morning fire resulted in the death of two people and serious burns and smoke inhalation of two more.
According to Tracy W. Zents, director of emergency services for the Jefferson County Department of Emergency Services, said that a misdirected cell phone call to New York state said state police at DuBois were dispatched to check on a 9-1-1 hang-up call in the area when the fire was discovered. Zents also said that another person from the area called in simultaneously with the state police to report the fire at 12:34 a.m.
The first Falls Creek Fire Department unit was on the scene at 12:43 a.m. Fire units from Falls Creek, Reynoldsville, Warsaw Township, Sandy Township and DuBois City responded to the scene. DuBois Emergency Medical Services, STAT MedEvac and local and county emergency officials were also on the scene, according to documents from the Jefferson County Department of Emergency Services.
A cell phone caller whose call was misdirected was never received at the Jefferson County (Pennsylvania) center. The caller was on Cooper Road when she dialed 9-1-1 from her cell phone. A dispatcher from the New York state police in Poughkeepsie answered the call.
The caller reported that she was in Jefferson County along Cooper Road near DuBois Regional Airport and needed to report a house fire.
The New York dispatcher connected her call with the Jefferson County Office of Fire and Emergency Management in Watertown, N.Y.
Glenn Morrison, deputy director for New York, said that his dispatcher was able to hear the caller, although the caller could not hear the dispatcher.
The dispatcher took the information that the caller provided about the airport in DuBois, quickly queried the Internet to find out where the airport was located and then placed a call to Pennsylvania.
The Jefferson County (Pennsylvania) dispatchers had fire units at the scene when New York dispatchers called.
Zents first learned about the lost cell phone call from his dispatchers prior to his arrival at the fire scene early that morning. Zents stated that he met up with the caller and used their cell phone to call back to 9-1-1 and was again directed to Poughkeepsie.
The cellular provider, Dobson Communications (Cellular One), was contacted at 2:57 a.m. and was requested to check into the problem immediately.
Cellular One conducted a series of testing throughout the day in Jefferson County Thursday morning. The results of that testing is unknown as of posting time.
Zents and Morrison both said their respective dispatchers did what they were supposed to do in finding the location of the call and to properly dispatch emergency services to the scene. Zents was also quick to note that the information the caller provided about the airport helped to get the call routed back to Pennsylvania. The problem with the cell phone call was not with the caller or the two 9-1-1 dispatch centers, but rather with the way the call was routed by the cellular company’s equipment.
Zent said the department’s hearts and prayers go out to the family of the victims from this tragic fire.
The state police along with the Jefferson County Coroner’s office continue their investigation.
