Snohomish County has two different 911 centers.
Every day, more than 130 calls to 911 need to be transferred between them.
The average transfer has a 21-second delay. If the other 911 center is busy, the caller gets a recording: Stay on the line until someone is available.
That happened July 30 to four people who were reporting a mass shooting at a Mukilteo house party. Among them was a young man with a gunshot wound asking for an ambulance. The recording from his transferred call was played at a public meeting Sept. 15 for police and fire chiefs from around the county.
“We don’t have that time,” former Mukilteo Police Chief Chuck Macklin said at the meeting. “Twenty-one seconds is the difference of life and death. It’s an eternity. The people making those calls don’t care about two dispatch centers. They want a response.”
The 911 transfers create “chaos,” Sheriff Ty Trenary said.
“Those people calling 911 typically are victims,” he said. “How do we provide the best service? That’s our job. I want one central (911) location.”