‘I’ll die here’: Complaints of unanswered 911 calls are increasing in Orange County

By Sheldon Dutes

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    ORANGE COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — f you were in an emergency and called 911, you’d expect someone to answer, but that didn’t happen for Ana Ramos.

She’s upset and concerned that her multiple calls for help went unanswered while she endured excruciating chest pain.

“I felt in despair, really,” Ramos said. “I’ll die here and no one’s going to come and what’s going to happen to my family?”

Ramos woke up in the middle of the night with what she describes as “horrible” chest pain and her left arm feeling numb. She said her husband immediately called 911 but told WESH 2 Investigates no one answered.

His cellphone call log shows three calls to 911 starting at 11:44 p.m. on Jan. 7. He stayed on the line for 50 seconds before hanging up and trying again two more times.

Ramos said she was in tears and couldn’t believe the apparent delay.

She and her husband left their home in the Avalon Park area to get help.

Ramos said her brother also called 911. He got a call back, but they were already close to the hospital at that point, she said.

What’s even more frustrating for Ramos is that Orange County Fire Station 87 on South Crown Hill Boulevard is exactly one mile away from her house.

“A four-minute drive,” she said. “That’s what gets me! Whatever happened at the call center is unacceptable because I’m close to emergency services.”

Where you live in Orange County determines which police department answers your 911 calls and texts.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office handles Ramos’ neighborhood in east Orange County.

The office told WESH 2 Investigates they recorded three calls that were hung up, or abandoned, by the caller. The office also said they tried calling back four times, but no one answered.

“It should have been answered in less than the time it took us to call three times plus four when I was already in the car,” Ramos said.

Commissioner Maribel Gomez Cordero represents the southeastern part of Orange County and said this isn’t the first constituent that’s expressed similar complaints.

“Like a year, year and a half that these concerns and complaints have been coming in,” Commissioner Gomez Cordero said. “This has to stop. At least those phones have to be answered all the time.”

Data from the sheriff’s office shows the number of 911 calls went up 50% from June 2022 and June 2023.

The office said this happened because there were more abandoned calls and staffing shortages after the pandemic.

During an emergency, every second matters, which is why the sheriff’s office says not to hang up when you call 911 because it can create a backlog.

Abandoned calls always get an automated call back. If you accidentally contacted 911 or no longer need emergency services, press the number “1” or any other number. If you still need help when you receive the automated callback, press 2.

Although Ramos is thankful to be on the mend from the cardiac spasm that sent her to the emergency room, she’s said she’s still concerned.

“A community that doesn’t feel safe when these are basic emergency systems is not a community that’s going to thrive,” Ramos said.

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