Family of man who died from heart attack wants answers after 911 calls didn't get through

Raymond Switzer is left wondering if his son would be alive today if any of the nearly two dozen calls made to 911 the night he died were answered.

Dean Switzer, 55, died of a heart attack in his home outside Fisher Branch, a rural community in Manitoba's Interlake, on March 23, his father said.

Raymond Switzer said family and friends rushed to Dean's home, performed CPR and repeatedly called 911 in a frantic attempt to get help, but none of the 22 calls went through.

Sometimes, the phone rang over and over again. Other times, the caller got a recording telling them to hang up and try again.

All of the callers were Telus customers, he added.

Emergency services were only notified because a family friend called an RCMP officer, who sent an ambulance to the home, said Switzer.

But by then, "it was too late," he said.

'Tragic situation:' minister

Dean died two days before his 56th birthday. He had no history of heart problems.

The Opposition Progressive Conservatives took up the family's demand for answers during question period at the legislature on Wednesday, where Interlake-Gimli MLA Derek Johnson asked the NDP government why rural calls to 911 aren't getting through.

In response, Minister of Innovation and New Technology Mike Moroz offered his condolences to the Switzer family and presented a letter he sent to Telus expressing his concerns about what he referred to as "outages."

"This tragic situation has left the family grieving, frustrated and seeking answers," Moroz wrote in his letter to Telus.

The minister said he understands Telus is investigating the matter, alongside Bell, the 911 network provider in Manitoba.

"My hope is that this investigation can provide some answers and recommendations to ensure this kind of tragedy is prevented in the future," Moroz said.

In an emailed statement to CBC, a spokesperson for Telus said it considers 911 to be the most important service it provides as a telecommunications company and acknowledges the "tremendous grief and frustration" felt by Switzer's family.

"Our customers' inability to access 911 the evening of Mr. Switzer's passing is something we are taking extremely seriously," the statement said.

"We are working with Bell, the 911 network provider in Manitoba, to finalize our joint investigation of the circumstances surrounding this disruption to determine why these calls failed to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again."

A Bell spokesperson said the 911 service and the 911 dispatch centre in Brandon were fully operational on the day in question, and emergency calls from Bell customers and nine other service providers were processed successfully.

"However, we are aware that 911 calls from Telus destined to [the] Brandon 911 agency in Manitoba were not reaching the Bell 911 network on March 23," the email said.

Seven weeks later, Raymond Switzer said he's losing hope he'll get any answers about what went wrong.

"I said I wanted nothing from [Telus]," he said, breaking down during a phone interview. "The only thing I want to be sure is that this never, never happens again to another family."

Raymond remembered his son as someone who enjoyed spending time at the lake and had many good friends. He leaves behind his wife of 30 years.

"I could depend on him anytime when I needed something," Raymond said.

He also said nobody from the family has received an apology, or even a phone call, from Telus.

"They just don't give a damn, as far as I'm concerned." 

Another failed case

The Tories say they're worried the issue hasn't been resolved. 

According to La Verendrye MLA Konrad Narth, on Tuesday night, a person in the Zhoda area in southeastern Manitoba tried unsuccessfully to contact 911 about a wildfire approaching a neighbour's home.

Firefighters only arrived after another person was able to reach 911, Narth told reporters.

In both examples, cellphone service in the area wasn't an issue, but a call to 911 was, according to both Narth and Johnson. The MLAs wouldn't name the cellular service provider or providers involved.

"It's greatly concerning that people's first thought is to dial 911, and it's a helpless feeling for those not able to access the help," Narth said.