911

In light of the recent Metrolink tragedy in Chatsworth California- I feel that an issue must be brought to light in the Bloggosphere. This issue is the hearing impaired, incompetent 911 operator.

Tonight on the Channel 4 11 o'clock news, they played a series of 911 calls from the trainwreck. In all instances, the 911 operator treated the call like a prank or had conversations that went something like this:

Caller: "It was a train versus train accident."
Operator: "Train?"
Caller: "Yes it was a train. The train hit another train. Oh my God people are bleeding and dying here"

or

Caller: "We are on a train in Northridge."
Operator: "Train?"
Caller: "Yes, a train in Northridge."
Operator: "Train?"

Does this seem insane to you? Are they hearing impaired? Are they really insensitive?

I once made a 911 call about a fire I saw by the side of the freeway next to some homes. The operator asked me 3 times which freeway I was traveling on and then didn't believe the direction that I was driving. 911 operator is an important job. I feel like there should be some minimum competency test. I mean there is one for document reviewers. . .