KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On average, Kansas City, Missouri, 911 callers waited 1 minute and 56 seconds before their calls were answered in August, according to the most recent data from the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC).
The wait time is up 1 minute, 12 seconds from August 2019, the first year of data available from MARC.
Mike Hastings, the co-owner of Anchor Island Coffee, called 911 twice in the last month. The most recent call came Sept. 22 after two vehicles collided outside his shop.
"It was one of the better wait times, we're looking at about 4 or 5 minutes on that call," he said.
He also called 911 about a month ago when one of his customers had a medical emergency inside his shop. Hastings said he waited 14 minutes before his call was answered.
"It was long enough, actually, that I tried to use the 911 text line, and that was a bad experience," he said.
Texts to 911 have been available for the metro area since 2016, according to MARC. Hastings said it created some confusion for him.
“I texted, ‘I need an ambulance,’ with the address of the coffee shop, and they immediately replied, ‘What’s the address?’” he said.
Help arrived, but Hastings says a solution for wait times needs to be found. KCMO resident Kristen Hallier agrees.
Hallier made her first 911 call on Monday.
“There was a 70-year-old man who ran into a pole," she said.
Hallier said she waited 3 minutes before her call was answered.
“I’m feeling like, um, this guy still has a pulse, but is he going to?” she said.
Both Hallier and Hastings believe a "unified 911" system between Kansas City's fire and police departments is a good idea to try in an effort to reduce wait times.
The KCMO City Council committee approved an ordinance for the system on Tuesday.
The full council is set to discuss the ordinance on Thursday, Sept. 26.
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