By CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
COBDEN — In two separate incidents that Whitewater Region council is aware of, a call for help wasn’t answered as quickly as council members would have liked.
Corrie Bourgoin and Heather Corrigan are neighbours near the intersection of Kohlsmith Road, Foresters Falls Road, Grants Settlement Road and Kerr Line. On separate occasions, they both required emergency services and dialled 911 from their cell phones. They each ended up talking to 911 in Quebec and were not able to reach 911 Ontario. Only by calling someone else who was on a landline were they able to reach Ontario 911.
In her letter, Ms. Bourgoin wrote: I understand that in rural communities, response time, resources and emergency services can be limited. Given the challenges that face first responders in rural communities ten minutes to get a hold of 911 is completely unacceptable.
She also wrote: We do not own a land line. I understand that when calling 911 from a cell phone in this area it will use a tower in Quebec and be directed to 911 Quebec. This needs to be addressed. As technology continues to spread more and more people will be using cell phones as their primary communication. Having a cell tower installed in this area would be ideal but may not be feasible, however that isn’t the only solution to this issue.
1. Why isn’t there an agreement with 911 Quebec to address this issue? The operator was trying to help me, but he did not know what to do or what to tell me.
2. Why is this information not communicated to your residents? On the Whitewater Region website, the only phone number for Fire is 911. Not only that, there isn’t even a direct phone number listed for the fire department or for the fire halls that I can find. What if this had been a life or death emergency? What if my infant was choking? What if my 10-year-old (child) got hit by a car on her bike? What if my entire house was up in flames? In an emergency situation, every minute counts. As a resident of Whitewater Region I am very concerned about the fact that if I am in an emergency situation, I can not call 911 for help. It would be a waste of my time.
In her letter, Ms. Corrigian wrote: I turned onto Kohlsmith Road towards Cobden and was hit by another car. I called 911 and received the Quebec 911. After explaining my reason for calling she told me I am calling the wrong number and to call the Ontario 911. I asked her what that number would be besides 911 and she didn’t know. I hung up and recalled. This time another operator from Quebec 911 had given me another number to try. I was able to receive the help we needed after some time waiting in -35 weather.
Corrie and I were lucky that we did not have life threatening situations but we are concerned that the time may come. For my issue on the road we have no landline to use, cellular is all we have and not to be able to use 911 quickly is an issue, especially if a child has to call to help their parent all we’ve ever been taught is to call 911.
Quebec 911 was not forthcoming or helpful with us in these situations. There has to be some kind of communication with Quebec 911, that they can send our area to the proper personal.
Deputy-clerk Hope Dillabough said there is a problem along the Ottawa River with calling 911 from a cell phone. Ms. Dillabough said she has been told that Quebec 911 will transfer to Ontario 911, but that doesn’t always happen.
Councillor Cathy Regier, chair of the Protective Services Committee, was hopeful someone from the Whitewater Region fire department was going to attend the meeting to discus the 911 issue.
“This is a serious problem and we need to deal with it,” she said.
Deputy-clerk Dillabough said due to a call-out, Deputy-Chief Mike Moore was not able to attend the meeting and Fire Chief Wayne Heubner was busy with a funeral (he is also the local funeral director).
Mayor Hal Johnson said he has spoken to Chief Wayne Heubner about the situation, and there’s nothing the municipality can do.
“Wayne told me he has no clue what to do other than telling him that when you call 911 on a cell phone and you are north east of Grants Settlement Road, you have to say 911 Ontario. Nobody has proved that yet,” the mayor said, adding, “We need to go right to the root of the 911 system.”
Councillor Charlene Jackson agreed, saying, “Find out from the County who deals with 911. I don’t think our fire department is going to be any more helpful than our staff. This is not our Whitewater Region issue.”
When 911 started in the area, it was a county issue, so that’s where to go to for a solution, she said.
Councillor Chris Olmstead said this is something that has to be resolved, because as technology advances, more and more people will use cell phones and not have landlines. He said those under 25 most likely won’t even have a landline.
When the world kayak championships were hosted by Wilderness Tours and Wi-Fi was needed, the signal was bounced off a Quebec tower
“We need a cell tower,” Coun. Olmstead said. “We need to keep an eye on this and try and provide this service.”
Coun. Olmstead noted there is no phone number on the municipality’s web site for the direct line to 911.
Deputy-Clerk Dillabough said she will talk to the county, get a background and get a direct number for 911 and put it on the township’s web site.
