An Omaha mother is reminding people to not call 911 for fireworks complaints after she had trouble getting to dispatchers when her young daughter had a medical emergency.
Danielle Lind's two-month-old daughter Hallie stopped breathing Saturday night. She had been choking. "Having your daughter hold her breath and being a new parent, it was scary," Lind told 6 News. "It's not an emergency situation if someone is shooting off fireworks, especially during the allotted time they are allowed to," Lind says.
Luckily, Lind got the help she needed for her daughter, but it took a little longer than she expected to get to dispatchers.
Hundreds of firework complaint calls were made last week, many calling 9-1-1 instead of the non-emergency firework hotline number. "It's a life or death situation. People clogging up the regular phone line with firework complaints when they have a whole other line they can call," says Lind.
To make a complaint on the non-emergency hotline, call 402-444-5802.