Boy's 911 call helps mom, but slows EMS
By Nadine Parks
JAMES ISLAND — Five-year-old Tyrone Burden thought he did everything right. He called 911 from a cell phone when his mom went into a diabetic coma.
The Post and Courier
Tyrone Burden, 5, dialed 911 when Anthonette Richardson Burden slipped into a coma at their James Island home. Responders credit the boy with saving his mom's life.
The one thing Tyrone didn't know was his address, and that cost medical responders precious time. Anthonette Richardson Burden survived the episode, but now she's making sure her child knows his home address.
The fainting spells were coming more frequently for Tyrone's mother, and she had to quit her job in December and try to stay off her feet. She taught Tyrone how to call 911 from the house phone if she fell ill, but she didn't realize he'd go for the cell phone.
At 3:20 a.m. on March 29, Tyrone was sleeping in bed with his mom and felt her pull the covers off of him. She was seizing and losing consciousness, and she tried to get his attention.
"She was bumping her head on the bed, and her mouth was bleeding," Tyrone said. "She fell on the floor."
The next 12 minutes were tense for
Charleston police communications supervisor Kimberly Patterson as she tried to figure out the location of the boy on 911.
"My momma is dead," Tyrone told her.
She tried to get him to call again from the house phone so his address would come up on her screen, but he didn't understand. Efforts to coax him outside to a neighbor's house failed as well, and the time ticked by.
"I was just praying that she wasn't really dead," Patterson said.
Audio clip
911 call from 5-year-old Tyrone Burden
In the end, responders found the house when Tyrone told Patterson his mom's name, and Patterson looked her up in a computer database.
Doctors later told Richardson Burden that she would have died if she had not received medical care.
Sgt. Trevor Shelor is Charleston's crime prevention specialist. He said it is critical that young children know their home phone number and address. Most can learn it by age 3, especially if the learning is made fun, he said.
"You can make a song or dance out of it," he said. "If you make some sort of a rhyme or rhythm, kids can learn numbers."
Visuals help too, Shelor said. Take your children outside and show them the numbers on the house or mailbox, and walk them down the road to the street sign, he said.
Children also should be taught to go to a neighbor for help, Shelor said.
Tyrone now has his address on a note on the refrigerator.
Police would not discuss the city's GPS tracking capabilities for cell phones, but Shelor said that, nationwide, the global positioning systems are not reliable.
"Don't just dial 911 on your cell phone and leave it on and hope somebody's going to come for you," he said.
Reach Nadine Parks at 937-5573 or nparks@postandcourier.com.
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Paul (anonymous) says...
This is exactly why Charleston County upgraded to E-911 ... have we been lied to again ?
April 5, 2008 at 3:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ForPnC (anonymous) says...
Paul - I thought the exact same thing. At least she got help but almost too late. I hope you get well soon, Anthonette.
April 5, 2008 at 4:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mac0cm4 (anonymous) says...
Okay, let's do basic education (since public education is lacking) for those who are going to talk without knowing what they are talking about:
E-911, or enhanced 911 will show an address and a phone number from a landline. Landline only.
On a wireless, it will show the cell phone number, and if the agency is Phase II compliant (and Chas County is, or should be) then the E-911 system will triangulate the position of the wireless caller and display it on a map. It's accurate to within around 100' or so, in my experience.
The only caveat to the E-911 Phase II wireless system is that older phones sometimes are not capable, yet are still required to be able to dial 911 whether they have a service plan or not (which is why you shouldn't give your young kids an old phone that still has power...you have no idea how many false 911 calls we get from kids playing with old phones...and the time spent answering those could be better spent answering yours!). Also, it's a wireless call, and it's susceptible to problems with reception. Not all calls that come in as wireless triangulate the position properly, and some don't at all. The vast majority of providers do provide a location.
Of course, if you are in a subdivision or a crowded area, you can understand that when the call comes from a cell phone and even if it does locate, the first responders/police/etc have to determine which house it is if we're unable to gather that over the phone. This is even worse out in extremely rural areas where there are no landmarks, streets, etc. Location is everything (much like real estate) in dialing 911.
So now you know. If you are curious even more, go to wikipedia and search for it. You can now have a more intelligent conversation about E-911 and its general operation.
April 5, 2008 at 6:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mac0cm4 (anonymous) says...
Let me add a disclaimer: I do not work, in any form or fashion for Charleston County, in case some of you were wondering. I do, however, work in the industry and deal daily with E-911.
I almost forgot to add: Way to go Tyrone!
April 5, 2008 at 6:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ForPnC (anonymous) says...
Thank you for the explanation. Now that's cleared up.
Also, thank you for the belittlement that wasn't necessary.
In my experience, wikipeida isn't worth a damn and is full of wrong information. I wouldn't go there to learn how to spell the word "I."
April 5, 2008 at 7:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Paul (anonymous) says...
mac0cm4:
Your attitude explains the rudeness with which you speak.
Also wikipedia is completely unreliable, a simple Google will get you far more accurate information.
April 5, 2008 at 8:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lexylady (anonymous) says...
Paul, I don't think MacO was being rude. I think he knows what he is talking about, and to me it was informative. I do agree with you about Wikipedia, though. I don't trust that site either. I either use google or ask.com. Just my opinion..
April 5, 2008 at 9:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ChrisPia (anonymous) says...
Great job Tyrone. Mom should be proud.
April 5, 2008 at 9:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
suec (anonymous) says...
Thanks macO. That was inforamtion that the PC shodul have provided us, but failed. As usual we were given a bunch of fluff with little to no investigative reoprting.
MacO was not being rude. Can't say the same for Paul who jumped to the conclusion that we were being "lied to again". But that's what happens when a "news" organization fails to report the whole story.
April 5, 2008 at 9:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Paul (anonymous) says...
By the way, the FCC requirements state that the accuracy is generally within 50 - 300 meters, depending on the type of technology used. It is not 100 feet. The Charleston area governments and agencies, including emergency and police departments are Phase II compliant and are on the FCC Master PSAP Registry File as of April 1, 2008.
April 5, 2008 at 9:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MACOA (anonymous) says...
Paul, 50-300 meters is roughly 160 to 980 feet. It's still gonna take a while to search a residential area equivalent to three football fields. Phase II compliant doesn't mean anything if the phone calling the E-911 system isn't equipped with the same technology! Why are some people so quick to fault the emergency services in this area. The Low Country seems to be full of ungratefull people.
April 5, 2008 at 12:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ChrisPia (anonymous) says...
What is the time frame to pinpoint 50-300 meters?
April 5, 2008 at 1:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tj (anonymous) says...
Tyrone is a hero! Way to go little man~!!
April 5, 2008 at 2 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
candygirl (anonymous) says...
God bless you Tyrone, we are proud of you.
April 5, 2008 at 5:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
chucktonian (anonymous) says...
yet another reason why people shouldn't ditch their landline for unreliable cell phones or experimental internet telephones like vonage or cable company phones.
plain old telephone service = good and reliable for 100 years. your life could depend on it
April 6, 2008 at 12:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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