HAMILTON - Hamilton's 911 emergency system failed
Jean Ross as she tried desperately to get an
ambulance for her 85-year-old mother.

Police and Bell Canada technicians have not been
able to identify or duplicate the problem which
denied Ross access to the 911 system early Monday
morning after her mother, Zelda McIntyre, a cardiac
patient, awoke in pain and wanted to go to the
hospital.

McIntyre got to hospital almost an hour
after her daughter placed her first 911. Ross
wants to know what happened to her frantic
unanswered calls for help.

She said her mother is in good
condition but tests which indicate she suffered
a small heart attack with some damage
to her heart can't confirm exactly when the attack
occurred.

''Mom woke up before 6 and she was
calling for my nine-year-old son Michael to help her.
She was in a lot of pain

''I called 911 right
away at about five to six. It rang and rang and rang
and then the line went dead.

''I tried again,
hitting (the automatic) redial over and over and the
same thing happened. I kept hitting redial but it
would ring maybe 30 times and then go dead.''

''I was frantic, I couldn't get an answer.''

The Star

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), January 16, 2001