911 dispatchers receive dozens of accidental calls from Kings Island

The new service will affect all 911 calls handled by the communications center. When you call you will now receive a text message that explains what to do if you need emergency help unless the call was by mistake.

The county’s director of emergency services, Melissa Bour, said the service relieves dispatchers from having to make calls back to cellphones that have made accidental calls.

At the root of the problem is a feature on many smartphones that calls 911 automatically if buttons on the side of a phone are held down. This can happen when people have phones in their pockets while on rides at the amusement park.

Dispatchers said they received 15 hang up calls and 128 silent calls from Kings Island last weekend.