E-Comm releases the 10 most ridiculous 911 calls of 2018

B.C.'s largest 911 call centre E-Comm and their operators handle well over 1.4-million calls each year from communities spanning from Vancouver Island to Alberta, the U.S. border to north of Prince George.

While the large majority of calls involve serious emergencies and life-threatening situations, not all calls warrant the need for emergency operators.

E-Comm releases an annual top-10 list of such unimportant calls that is always good for a laugh, but also to educate the public on what situations deserve 911's attention.

For example, 2016's "worst" 911 call was to request help opening a broken gym locker, last year's was to complain that a salon wouldn’t change nail polish colour.

Here is E-Comm’s 2018 list of top 10 reasons to not call 911:

1. To complain a local fast food restaurant wasn’t open 24-hours-a-day, as advertised

2. To complain a store won’t take shoes back without the original box

3. To complain that a gas station attendant put the wrong type of gas in their car

4. To report a rental company provided the wrong-sized vehicle for a customer’s reservation

5. To report a restaurant wouldn’t redeem a customer’s coupon

6. To ask for help turning off their car lights

7. To report their vehicle’s windshield wipers had stopped working

8. To find out where their car had been towed

9. To report a lost jacket

10. To ask if the clocks move forward or backward during the spring time change

“Most people use 9-1-1 responsibly,” said Jasmine Bradley, E-Comm Corporate Communications manager.

“But calls such as those on this year’s headscratcher list waste valuable emergency resources that would otherwise be available to someone who’s health, safety or property was in jeopardy or a crime was in progress.”