Is it true that ordering pepperoni pizza at 911 is a hidden way to ask for help

For several years, a post has been spreading on social networks that an 911 call with a pizza delivery order is an unofficial way to secretly seek help. But is it really so?

Фото: Depositphotos

The message on social networks says: “If you need to call 911, but you are afraid that someone is in the room, dial the number and ask for pepperoni pizza. They will ask if you know that you are calling 911? Say yes and keep pretending to order. Dispatchers are trained to ask specific yes or no questions ... don't hang up! ”

In fact, dispatchers are not trained to interpret pizza orders as a hidden way to seek emergency care.

Christopher Carver, Director of Operations at the Dispatch Center of the National Emergency Numbers Association, told the Associated Press that requesting “emergency pizza is not a standard practice or procedure.”

Carver said the dispatcher would not hang up when he heard the pizza order; he would ask more questions to determine what was going on. But, according to him, there is no single national rule as to what to do if someone calls and orders pizza.

“Setting up any secret phrases to communicate with representatives of 911 centers is potentially very dangerous,” — he said.

On the subject: 911 call rules that can save lives

Carver suggested that if someone cannot speak on the phone, he should write to the 911 emergency service. He said that "people should do their best to give their location to the 911 controller."

The idea of ​​ordering pizza as a cover for calling the police has attracted widespread attention after the Super More Bowl ad campaign that came out in 2015.

A woman calls 911, gives her address and orders pizza, and the dispatcher asks if the call is a prank. She continues to order and finally the dispatcher asks if she has an emergency. At this point she can say yes. Then the dispatcher sends help. The ad ends with the message: "When it's hard to talk — we must listen. ”

In 2014 year news internet media company Buzzfeed interviewed the dispatcher, who described in detail on the Reddit social network an emergency call that began with a pizza order and followed a scenario. Rossaline Warren, a former Buzzfeed journalist who wrote this story, said she interviewed the dispatcher and another woman who said she used the same tactics.

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