Wed, Aug 6, 2008
A security guard living in an apartment building goes crazy and starts firing weapons out of his window, through his front door and into the walls. Multiple calls are made to 911. Dozens of officer respond and begin a 5-hour gun battle with the shooter. Two major Los Angeles freeways located just behind the apartment building are shut down. This story is told through a handful of 911 calls, dozens of hours of police audio recordings and the on-air reports from a local radio traffic reporter who lived a few doors away from the gunman and was trapped insider her apartment during the standoff.
Wed, Aug 13, 2008
A woman is home alone. Her leg was broken in a car accident the previous week and she is eight months pregnant. It's at night. Her four dogs start going crazy, like something is really wrong in the house. The woman calls 911. While she is on the phone, the dogs become extremely agitated. The 911 operator sends help - but before the police arrive an intruder comes from the basement and violently attacks the woman. He rips off her clothes and attempts to rape her - just as the police break in and stop him.
Wed, Aug 20, 2008
A couple visiting California from Florida are taking an evening stroll in the condo complex where they are renting a home. During their walk, the man falls over backward, smashing his head on the asphalt. He's had a massive, most-likely fatal heart attack. The wife screams for help. Two neighbors come to help. One man begins CPR while the other calls 911. The 911 operator teaches the caller how to do CPR and the caller instructs his neighbor what to do. Paramedics arrive and take the man to hospital. The man is given an experimental treatment where doctors froze his body in order to prevent damage to his brain and organs. It worked.
Thu, Aug 28, 2008
Texas intruder shot - Police give chase to a man driving a truck when he refuses to stop when officers attempt to pull him over for a traffic violation. The man bails out of his car and runs into a park. Officers give chase, but have no luck. An hour later, a grandmother and her 20-year-old granddaughter hear noises in their home. They go to investigate - the grandmother armed with her .38 caliber gun. Inside a closet near their front door, the women find a man dressed only in shorts hiding beneath some clothes (turns out it's the guy the police were looking for). The grandmother holds the man at gunpoint. The granddaughter calls 911 and captures the rest of the events on tape. The man tries to take the gun and then tries to run. The grandmother shoots him in the leg. The man stumbles outside where he collapses on the ground. The man runs again and the grandmother shoots him again. The man runs into the woods. He is found two hours later - still alive. The grandmother becomes a folk hero. Baby drowning - A baby falls into a swimming pool and his underwater for about two minutes before anyone in his family notices. The baby is pulled from the water. The father calls 911 while the mother, who is a nurse, begins CPR. It appears the baby will not survive, but just before paramedics arrive the baby begins to cough.
Wed, Sep 3, 2008
Kicked by a horse - A woman and her 14-year-old daughter are in a forest riding horses. When the horses refuse to cross a stream, the women try to walk the horses across. One of the horses struggles and kicks the mother in the head, causing severe injuries. The daughter calls 911 and begs for help. But police helicopters cannot find the pair because the forest canopy is too thick. The daughter must leave her mother and walk to the edge of the forest to flag down help - and it's all on the 911 call. Baby choking - A 6-month-old baby chokes on a piece of Kleenex. The baby's frantic mother gives the child CPR while the father gets instructions from a 911 operator on how to save the baby's life. The paramedics arrive just as the baby expires. They save the child by removed the Kleenex from its throat at the last minute. Baby born to confused dad - In Austin, Texas, a woman goes into labor in the middle of the night. The husband calls 911. He gets information from the operator on how to help his wife give birth. But just before the baby is born, the father decides it would be best if he went outside to flag down the ambulance when it arrived. The 911 operator was not amused and told the dad-to-be that his place was inside helping to birth his child. Mother, father and baby are fine.
Wed, Oct 22, 2008
Christmas CPR Call - A husband gets up in the middle of the night, but upon returning to bed, he tells his wife his chest hurts. Immediately, the wife calls 911. She is given instructions on how to perform CPR, but because he is still in the bed, she is unable to properly compress his chest. She drags her husband to the floor - a sturdy surface - and performs CPR, while anxiously waiting for help to arrive. Simi Valley Bank Robbery - A woman heads into her bank and realizes it is being robbed. Not wanting to get involved, she stands outside and calls 911. While on the phone, she sees what looks like a getaway car and gives the description to the police. Shortly thereafter, the robbers flee the bank and hop into the car. The police pursue the suspects and end up trapping them in a nearby neighborhood. A door-to-door search ends with the men being arrested. OR Baby Downing - She only turned her back for a moment, but when she turned around, a mother saw her child face down in the bathtub. She cried out for her husband when she realized her baby wasn't breathing. As the parents performed CPR on the child, a friend dialed 911 and tried to get help there in time.
Wed, Oct 29, 2008
Baby born not breathing - A woman goes into labor at home and her husband does what any man would do, calls 911. The dispatcher talks the father through the delivery, but the call doesn't end there - the baby isn't breathing. Car crash - On an icy road, a minivan carrying two children collides head-on with a truck towing a trailer. One of the children is easily removed from the wreckage, but the other is trapped in the wheel well. Citizens pull the girl from the wheel well, but the rescue helicopter has difficulty reaching her. With each passing moment, the girl's chances of survival diminish.
Wed, Nov 5, 2008
A man calls 911 to tell them he's about to start shooting at the Tacoma Mall. Moments later, shots ring out and a deluge of calls flood the 911 center. The gunman has not only shot people, but taken several people hostage. The incident drags on for hours and involves and tests the limits of the local law enforcement agencies.
Wed, Nov 12, 2008
Two men were out on all terrain vehicles when one of them flipped over and landed on the driver. His friend calls 911 to get help to scene. Upon arrival, the responding personnel realize they know the man they are trying to save - he is a paramedic in training. Emotions run high as the crew tries to save their friend... and his face. Lake - What was supposed to be a pleasant winter vacation takes a turn for the worse when three teenagers capsize their canoe in the middle of a lake. Miraculously, one of the teenagers manages to call 911. Unfamiliar with the area, they have trouble describing their location, which complicates the rescue efforts. The teens battle the freezing temperatures and hope their rescuers get to them before hypothermia does.
Wed, Nov 19, 2008
A chief attempts to pull a man over for reckless driving, but the man flees and leads him on a pursuit back to his home. The man runs into his house and returns with a gun. He not only shoots the chief, but also the deputy sent to back him up. Despite the fact that gunshots continue to ring out, members of the community put their lives in danger to aid the lawmen and get them to safety. Boy calls for grandma - A dispatcher gets a call from a small boy claiming that his granny is hurt. Not knowing exactly what is wrong with the grandmother, the dispatcher sends help. Rescuers rush to the scene as the dispatcher struggles to pry more information from the child.