‘Is Your Girlfriend Still On Fire?’ Asks 911 Dispatcher While Laughing
From the archive: published Oct 2, 2013, 13 years ago. Details may have changed since.
The last thing a person calling in an emergency to 911 wants to hear is the dispatcher laughing at them. Especially if their girlfriend is on fire! Yes folks, you read correctly…
Lalo Delgado from Arizona dialled the emergency number to report that his girlfriend had caught on fire along a road in Chiva Falls when his car burst into flames. He said to the 911 dispatcher: “My car just kinda caught on fire, my girlfriend caught on fire .”
The unbelievable and shocking response from the female dispatcher was to ask if Mr Delgado’s girlfriend was still on fire, while simultaneously laughing. He reported the call to the dispatcher’s superiors, outraged at the woman’s behavior.
The victim was attended to soon after by medics who arrived on the scene. She is recovering, but sustained serious burns which will take a long time to heal. Delgado mentioned to the woman’s boss that had she not been laughing, the medics may have arrived sooner.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department have initiated an investigation into the incident to establish if the laughing was related to the call. Here is an excerpt from the transcript of the call:
911: 911 what is your emergency? Caller: My car just kinda caught on fire, my girlfriend caught on fire. 911: Is your girlfriend still on fire? Caller: No. 911: No? (laughter in background) 911: OK. (chuckles) Umm… Is your vehicle still on fire? Caller: It’s hilarious huh? 911: Sir, is your vehicle still on fire? Caller: I just heard you smirk… (Inaudible). 911: OK, sir, it wasn’t regarding that, OK? Caller: Yeah, I just heard you laugh.
Delgado expressed his hope to reporters that this kind of unacceptable behavior won’t happen again: “Hopefully, the next person that calls 911 doesn’t get laughed at,” he said.
You can hear the call itself on this YouTube video in this news report from KGUN9: