Wed, Aug 6, 2008
A security guard living in an apartment building goes crazy and starts firing weapons out of his window, through his front door and into the walls. Multiple calls are made to 911. Dozens of officer respond and begin a 5-hour gun battle with the shooter. Two major Los Angeles freeways located just behind the apartment building are shut down. This story is told through a handful of 911 calls, dozens of hours of police audio recordings and the on-air reports from a local radio traffic reporter who lived a few doors away from the gunman and was trapped insider her apartment during the standoff.
Wed, Aug 13, 2008
A woman is home alone. Her leg was broken in a car accident the previous week and she is eight months pregnant. It's at night. Her four dogs start going crazy, like something is really wrong in the house. The woman calls 911. While she is on the phone, the dogs become extremely agitated. The 911 operator sends help - but before the police arrive an intruder comes from the basement and violently attacks the woman. He rips off her clothes and attempts to rape her - just as the police break in and stop him.
Wed, Aug 20, 2008
A couple visiting California from Florida are taking an evening stroll in the condo complex where they are renting a home. During their walk, the man falls over backward, smashing his head on the asphalt. He's had a massive, most-likely fatal heart attack. The wife screams for help. Two neighbors come to help. One man begins CPR while the other calls 911. The 911 operator teaches the caller how to do CPR and the caller instructs his neighbor what to do. Paramedics arrive and take the man to hospital. The man is given an experimental treatment where doctors froze his body in order to prevent damage to his brain and organs. It worked.
Thu, Aug 28, 2008
Texas intruder shot - Police give chase to a man driving a truck when he refuses to stop when officers attempt to pull him over for a traffic violation. The man bails out of his car and runs into a park. Officers give chase, but have no luck. An hour later, a grandmother and her 20-year-old granddaughter hear noises in their home. They go to investigate - the grandmother armed with her .38 caliber gun. Inside a closet near their front door, the women find a man dressed only in shorts hiding beneath some clothes (turns out it's the guy the police were looking for). The grandmother holds the man at gunpoint. The granddaughter calls 911 and captures the rest of the events on tape. The man tries to take the gun and then tries to run. The grandmother shoots him in the leg. The man stumbles outside where he collapses on the ground. The man runs again and the grandmother shoots him again. The man runs into the woods. He is found two hours later - still alive. The grandmother becomes a folk hero. Baby drowning - A baby falls into a swimming pool and his underwater for about two minutes before anyone in his family notices. The baby is pulled from the water. The father calls 911 while the mother, who is a nurse, begins CPR. It appears the baby will not survive, but just before paramedics arrive the baby begins to cough.
Wed, Sep 3, 2008
Kicked by a horse - A woman and her 14-year-old daughter are in a forest riding horses. When the horses refuse to cross a stream, the women try to walk the horses across. One of the horses struggles and kicks the mother in the head, causing severe injuries. The daughter calls 911 and begs for help. But police helicopters cannot find the pair because the forest canopy is too thick. The daughter must leave her mother and walk to the edge of the forest to flag down help - and it's all on the 911 call. Baby choking - A 6-month-old baby chokes on a piece of Kleenex. The baby's frantic mother gives the child CPR while the father gets instructions from a 911 operator on how to save the baby's life. The paramedics arrive just as the baby expires. They save the child by removed the Kleenex from its throat at the last minute. Baby born to confused dad - In Austin, Texas, a woman goes into labor in the middle of the night. The husband calls 911. He gets information from the operator on how to help his wife give birth. But just before the baby is born, the father decides it would be best if he went outside to flag down the ambulance when it arrived. The 911 operator was not amused and told the dad-to-be that his place was inside helping to birth his child. Mother, father and baby are fine.
Wed, Oct 22, 2008
Christmas CPR Call - A husband gets up in the middle of the night, but upon returning to bed, he tells his wife his chest hurts. Immediately, the wife calls 911. She is given instructions on how to perform CPR, but because he is still in the bed, she is unable to properly compress his chest. She drags her husband to the floor - a sturdy surface - and performs CPR, while anxiously waiting for help to arrive. Simi Valley Bank Robbery - A woman heads into her bank and realizes it is being robbed. Not wanting to get involved, she stands outside and calls 911. While on the phone, she sees what looks like a getaway car and gives the description to the police. Shortly thereafter, the robbers flee the bank and hop into the car. The police pursue the suspects and end up trapping them in a nearby neighborhood. A door-to-door search ends with the men being arrested. OR Baby Downing - She only turned her back for a moment, but when she turned around, a mother saw her child face down in the bathtub. She cried out for her husband when she realized her baby wasn't breathing. As the parents performed CPR on the child, a friend dialed 911 and tried to get help there in time.
Wed, Oct 29, 2008
Baby born not breathing - A woman goes into labor at home and her husband does what any man would do, calls 911. The dispatcher talks the father through the delivery, but the call doesn't end there - the baby isn't breathing. Car crash - On an icy road, a minivan carrying two children collides head-on with a truck towing a trailer. One of the children is easily removed from the wreckage, but the other is trapped in the wheel well. Citizens pull the girl from the wheel well, but the rescue helicopter has difficulty reaching her. With each passing moment, the girl's chances of survival diminish.
Wed, Nov 5, 2008
A man calls 911 to tell them he's about to start shooting at the Tacoma Mall. Moments later, shots ring out and a deluge of calls flood the 911 center. The gunman has not only shot people, but taken several people hostage. The incident drags on for hours and involves and tests the limits of the local law enforcement agencies.
Wed, Nov 12, 2008
Two men were out on all terrain vehicles when one of them flipped over and landed on the driver. His friend calls 911 to get help to scene. Upon arrival, the responding personnel realize they know the man they are trying to save - he is a paramedic in training. Emotions run high as the crew tries to save their friend... and his face. Lake - What was supposed to be a pleasant winter vacation takes a turn for the worse when three teenagers capsize their canoe in the middle of a lake. Miraculously, one of the teenagers manages to call 911. Unfamiliar with the area, they have trouble describing their location, which complicates the rescue efforts. The teens battle the freezing temperatures and hope their rescuers get to them before hypothermia does.
Wed, Nov 19, 2008
A chief attempts to pull a man over for reckless driving, but the man flees and leads him on a pursuit back to his home. The man runs into his house and returns with a gun. He not only shoots the chief, but also the deputy sent to back him up. Despite the fact that gunshots continue to ring out, members of the community put their lives in danger to aid the lawmen and get them to safety. Boy calls for grandma - A dispatcher gets a call from a small boy claiming that his granny is hurt. Not knowing exactly what is wrong with the grandmother, the dispatcher sends help. Rescuers rush to the scene as the dispatcher struggles to pry more information from the child.
Wed, Jan 7, 2009
Plane Crash - Four people are returning from a trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula in a small plane on a cold February night, as the pilot talks to his friend at a nearby airport. As soon as he ends his transmission, he suffers catastrophic engine failure and immediately calls back for help. He stays on the line as his plane skims the treetops and crashes into the forest below. As soon as he gains consciousness, the pilot realizes his radio was crushed and calls for help using one of the passenger's cell phones. It is late in the evening, in the middle of nowhere, and everyone is injured - two with broken backs. The four passengers cling to life and pray for rescue as the cold and their injuries grow worse with each passing moment.
Wed, Jan 14, 2009
Son and Dad Call for Mom - Thinking his wife is having a bad dream, a man tries to wake her up. When she doesn't wake, the man calls out to his son and tells him to get 911 on the phone. The man begins CPR as his son relays information to the dispatcher. Hearing the husband's screams in the background, paramedics rush to the scene. Woman Under Desk - It was one of the rare nights that her husband worked the late shift and she was home alone when she heard a noise downstairs. Living in an old farmhouse, she thought it was some bats, but when she heard glass breaking she knew she was in trouble. She grabbed the phone, called 911, and hid in the first available place - under her desk. She was on the phone as the men made their way through the house, up the stairs, and into the room where she was hiding. As they tried to steal the computer off the very desk she was under, she realized there was a chance she would be discovered and began to fear for her life.
Fri, Jan 23, 2009
Young girl calls for father - A young girl hears a thud in the other room and enters to find her father semi-conscious on the floor. She calls 911 and explains the situation as best she can. Hearing the father attempting to speak in the background, the dispatcher asks to speak to him. Once on the phone, he is able to relay the rest of the information required to get him the help he needs. Stroke in parking lot - A woman calls her boyfriend and tells him she has had a stroke. The man calls his sister - a 911 supervisor - and asks for help. The girlfriend is unable to describe her location, so 911 is unable to send help. They try a number of things to pinpoint locate her and none of them work. In the end, they resort to putting out a broadcast on commercial radio, hoping that some citizen might be able to help.
Fri, Jan 30, 2009
Bank robbery - Two tellers are alone in a bank when an armed woman hands one of them a note, instructing them to empty their drawers. As soon as she flees with the money, one of the tellers calls 911 and alerts the police. She is able to provide a description of the getaway vehicle and a high-speed chase ensues. Pregnant mother collapses - A young boy enters the bathroom to find his pregnant mother on the floor. He calls her fiancé and tells him something is wrong. The fiancé is several hours away, but he calls 911 in an attempt to get an ambulance on the scene. At the same time, the boy calls 911 and lets them know his mother needs help. The two of them race against the clock in separate locations to help the woman they both love.
Fri, Feb 6, 2009
Home Invasion - A family grieving over the loss of a loved one is further traumatized by a pair of gunmen who enter the house and begin shooting, searching for some recently acquired wealth. The mother watches as they shoot her son in the leg, then retreats to the bedroom where she proceeds to call 911. Hidden under the bed, she listens to the sound of gunshots and the screams of her children, while relaying the information to the call taker on the other end. Baby Being Born - After being told that she wasn't due for several more hours, a pregnant woman goes home to get some rest. Woken by the sounds of his wife calling to him in the middle of the night, the husband gets out of bed to find her in the bathroom. Thinking there was a problem with the toiler, he was shocked to see that she was going into labor. He immediately dialed 911 and was given instructions on how to help deliver the baby and keep the mother safe until help arrived.
Fri, Feb 20, 2009
Texas Christmas - Without presents or money to buy them, a mother turns to the El Paso Fire Department on Christmas Eve in search of gifts for her children. The dispatcher then contacts nearby stations to see if there are any uncollected gifts that might be suitable for the family. Not only does he find gifts, but he also convinces a local restaurant to donate Christmas dinner. Once all the goods have been corralled, the Fire Chief himself delivers the food and presents personally. F-18 Crash - It was a typical afternoon in San Diego until an F-18 fighter pilot ejected and sent his F-18 crashing into the neighborhood below. Watching as flames licked at the house next door, a man dials 911 and describes the scene - exploding glass, thick smoke, and a wall of fire. With his phone in one hand and a hose in the other, he stays on the phone until the fire department arrives on scene and forces him from his home. Girl Hit With Ball - A young girl is playing ball with the big boys when she suddenly gets hit by the ball in a way that it stops her heart. Her mother calls 911 and help is dispatched immediately.