VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — About a week or two before the Fourth of July is when the phone lines really start to ring inside the Virginia Beach emergency dispatch center.
That’s according to Carmen VanVoorhis with Emergency Communications and Citizen Services.
“It’s a no-leave weekend for us,” VanVoorhis said. “We need everyone, all hands on deck.”
She said the emergency line gets dozens of calls when illegal fireworks go off.
“If we’re looking at the numbers, between about 8 p.m. until about 2 a.m., we’re taking an average of 70 to 80 calls an hour,” VanVoorhis said.
She said on the Fourth of July last year, emergency dispatchers received 96 calls in just one hour. 75% of those calls were related to fireworks.
“For us, it bogs down the system because when the calls come in, we have to prioritize them before the first responders can,” VanVoorhis said. "We don't know what's coming in until we're actually talking to the person who's calling us."
VanVoorhis said the city is trying out a new system hoping to divert calls about fireworks away from the emergency line. She said if fireworks aren’t posing a danger or threat to you or your property, call 757-385-5000 or 311.
"If they call in, they have the option to either get a link or they can be transferred to 311," she said. "311 will take their information and put a call for service into our computer dispatch center and then it will alert responders on the street about some fireworks."
She said it's a collaborative effort between 311 and 911 staff.
“It’s the most streamlined, off the phone," she said. "They don’t have to talk to anybody."
VanVoorhis said that information is being collected just as fast as being on the line with a dispatcher. If you don't want to call, you can fill out a form through an online portal.