On August 25th, 2014 at approximately 10:00 am, the Dodge County Central Communications Center received information that a 6 year old child had called to report a fire at her home. The child called the Dodge County Human Services Department; they relayed the information to Sheriff’s Office Communications Officers. Communications Officers immediately determined the address of the call and confirmed its location in the Town of Elba. Police and fire personnel were dispatched. During the process of dispatching these resources, a parent was able to communicate with the Center and stated there was no fire at their residence. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office and the City of Columbus Fire Department responded to the residence and confirmed there was no fire. Also on August 25th, 2014 at approximately 12:25pm, the Dodge County Central Communications Center received a prank phone call. The caller, who seemed to be an elderly woman, asked the Communications Officer for toilet paper, and asked a series of other random questions. The Communications Officer attempted to get information from the caller, but was unable to gather any identifiable data. It is believed this prank has been repeated at other Communications Centers. Sheriff Ninmann states, “Citizens need to understand, as well as teach their children, the importance of 911 and when it should be utilized. Valuable emergency resources were immediately dispatched to respond to the reported fire, taking these services away from one that may truly need them. Also, prank calls made to the 911 Center are a drain on the resources of the public safety personnel. Prank phone calls to the center are truly a hindrance to public safety and can result in being charged with a violation of Wisconsin State Statute 256.35(10)(a) Statewide emergency services number: 256.35(10)(a)Any person who intentionally dials the telephone number “911” to report an emergency, knowing that the fact situation which he or she reports does not exist, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $600 or imprisoned not more than 90 days or both for the first offense and is guilty of a Class H felony for any other offense committed within 4 years after the first offense.”
