Drake, burgers and potholes among the nuisance calls received by B.C. 911 operators in 2023

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Overall call volumes to 911 increased 13 per cent in 2023, further stressing already busy call operators. It’s amounted to over 2.1 million calls for service.

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While hindsight offers perspective on the nature of the nuisance 911 dials, call takers don’t have the luxury of hindsight when trying to dispatch resources.

“No matter how absurd a call might be on the surface, we have to treat every 9-1-1 call as an emergency, until we can confidently determine otherwise,” Milicevic added.

She stressed 911 is for emergencies only, situations where police, fire or ambulance presence is immediately required.

These situations include jeopardies to someone’s health, safety or property, or if a crime is in progress.

For situations that aren’t emergencies, E-Comm 911 recommends knowing a local non-emergency number such as the RCMP or Fire Rescue station.

The agency also says it’s important to stay on the line if you dial 911 accidentally, so dispatchers can mark the call as an error and move on from the situation confidently.

Here’s a complete list of the top nuisance calls for 2023:

• To ask for directions home from the Drake concert;
• The traffic light was taking too long to turn green;
• They lost a nose ring down the shower drain;
• Their AirBnB host cancelled their reservation;
• Their UberEats order was taking too long;
• A burger joint wouldn’t let them in before opening;
• They couldn’t find their cell phone;
• To complain about a pothole;
• Their McDonalds order was taking too long;
• The barber gave them a bad haircut.