Internet phone delays 911 response to fire KSTP-TV - Saint Paul, MN The owner of a Chanhassen home completely destroyed by fire was distraught at his loss, and says it could have been prevented if his Internet phone service hadn’t placed his 911 call on hold. The fire started at approximately 1:15 p.m. Thursday afternoon on the 6700 block of Lotus Trail in Chanhassen. The home’s owner, Loren Veltkamp, says when he called 911, he was put on hold by the popular Internet phone service, Vonage. "I called 911 using Vonage broadband and they put us on hold," he says. “Unbelievable… your house is burning down, and you’re put on hold by Vonage.” Veltkamp waited on hold for several minutes. However, Veltkamp twice entered the burning home to remove a personal computer with music he had created over many years. "When I was ordered out of the building, I didn't want to comply with that,” Veltkamp said. Fire crews convinced him to leave, but he later re-entered the home – followed by police. "They chased me in, saying they were going to taze me if I didn't come out,” Veltkamp said. He then ran from police through the house, and escaped out of the basement. “When I got back outside again, they put me in handcuffs and put me in the back of a squad car,” he said. “Then I collapsed and cried for a while, and I don't know, it's going to be hard." Authorities say they have seen problems with Internet phone services before. ”It's kind of a ‘buyer beware’ situation,” says Pete Eggimann, Director of 911 Services with the Metropolitan Emergency Services Board. A traditional, land-line phone company will enter a customer's information into a 911 database using strict guidelines. However, customers of Internet-based phone services must enter their address information on their own, and are not required to follow such strict guidelines. |
