Allegheny County's 9-1-1 system was bombarded with phone calls over the last two nights from people affected by damaging storms. Hundreds of trees were down and power was out all over the area. Matt Brown is Chief of Emergency Services for Allegheny County. He tells Marty Griffin on NewsRadio KDKA they try to process the calls as fast and as efficiently as they can.
"Sunday night, last night when the storms hit, we go from maybe an average of 10 to 14 call takers, to as high as 25 or 30", he says. "I mean, we literally double and triple that".
His best advice for those who are placed on hold:
"The key is don't hang up. You got your place in line, stay on the line. We'll get right to you".
He says if you get a busy signal, call back, go into queue and wait your turn in line.