LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio —
When someone calls 911, help is expected immediately. They don't expect to be transferred multiple times.
It's something that has happened in areas like Perrysburg and Northwood, near the border between Lucas and Wood County, and is why Perrysburg Fire Chief William McCullough has proposed a memorandum of understanding.
When calls are made in the area, occasionally the calls made in Wood County will go to Lucas County dispatch.
As of right now, Lucas County dispatch will try and direct the call to the individual jurisdiction, Like the city of Perrysburg, Perrysburg Township or Rossford. Sometimes the call will go to the wrong jurisdiction.
McCullough said something needed to change, especially after hearing a 911 call where a woman was transferred multiple times before getting to the right person.
In November of 2023, Courtney Blust called 911 after a fire broke out in her house in Perrysburg, but the call went to Lucas County dispatch.
After repeating her address multiple times, dispatch said they were going to transfer her.
Courtney and her husband, Jacob, were working to get their sons out of the house during the fire.
Jacob Blust said in the moment, his wife didn't realized the call was being transferred.
"She stayed on the line but put her phone in her pocket," Jacob Blust said. "We were getting our youngest son out the door, and she got her phone out of her pocket and there was a different person trying to confirm."
The call lasted longer than three minutes before Courtney Blust was transferred to the right place.
McCullough said he does not know how often this happen, but the memorandum of understanding would have Lucas County dispatch transfer any misdirected calls directly to Wood County dispatch.
The memorandum does not have all of the needed signatures, but McCullough said he expects it to pass soon. He said this would help decrease response times.
"When their house is on fire or somebody has a medical emergency, they should have one call," McCullough said.
Jacob Blust said he thinks anything that can get first responders to scenes as quickly as possible is a good thing.
The Blust family lost one-third of their home, and it's currently being redone. Jacob Blust said they are hoping to be back in the house by February.