Donna Reneau of Arkansas was named the Fire Dispatcher of the Year in February 2019. Stevens first called Diane when she became trapped. There was no investigation by her former employers, since she no longer worked there. I dont want to die, she said. Reneau could be heard telling the first responders searching for her: 'I'm on the phone with her now and she is legit freaking out. During the 22-minute-long call at 4.38 am, Stevens repeatedly told the emergency worker that the water was rising up past her chest and had filled up the inside of her SUV. She begged for the dispatcher to send help and said she was scared. A date has not been set for a memorial service for Stevens. 5.00am: 911 call is disconnected between caller and dispatch. Authorities said that when they did eventually locate her, rising waters made an immediate rescue impossible. 17 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from 'donnareneau' hashtag 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. "I've never had anything happen like this before. Reneau had worked for the Fort Smith Police Department for five years, serving as a certified trainer for new employees, and was named fire dispatcher of the year in February, according to. Donna Reneau was working her final shift on August 24 when she received a frantic call from Debra Stevens, 47, having given in her notice two weeks earlier. First Published: 10:49 AM PDT, September 25, 2019. DONNA RENEAU. Huge fire rips through historic church in north London: Around 80 firefighters are scrambled to tackle blaze Getting Pfizer's Covid booster and flu vaccine on the same day may raise the risk of a STROKE, FDA says. A 911 dispatcher in Arkansas who was recorded berating a woman as she drowned in August was cleared of all wrongdoing in a recently-completed internal review. Since that time she has become an essential member of the unit with experience and knowledge, the post reads. Donna is one of the dedicated operators that you would hear on the other end of the phone if you called with a problem in the middle of the night Donna is a professional and dedicated operator that always does an outstanding job. Prince Harry 'hated woke nonsense' and 'made jokes we are no longer allowed to make' before meeting Meghan, 'We met a Princess'! 'To know you have helped someone that needed it gives you a great feeling. ", Reneau also tells her at another point, "You're gonna have to shut up, OK?". Stevens had been. (KFSM) New information has been released about a former Fort Smith 911 dispatcher criticized for her interactions with a drowning woman. and Once Stevens called 911 after she got stuck in her car, she was met with an unsympathetic dispatcher who scolded her multiple times even in her final moments of life. 'You're not the only one who has been stuck in the water. A rescue boat was launched at 5:16 a.m. however, first responders werent able to reach Stevens until 5:58 a.m. Debbie Stevens, 47, called the. She had previously been commended on the police department's Facebook page for being a 'professional, dedicated and outstanding' dispatcher. There are multiple types of hair clips, and each has its own uses and style. The content produced by YourTango is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not clear if Stevens' 911 call was the last one she took. Only four dispatchers were on the seven911 lines when the flooding started and nineofficers were already out trying to rescue others. "I don't see how you didn't see it, you had to go right over it, so.". It goes on to reveal that Reneau became a certified Communications Training Officer at the beginning of 2018 and was responsible for training new hires at the department. Operator Donna Reneau took that call at 4:38am. Reneau, who had been a dispatcher . Miss Debbie' before saying 'Oh my god. We've received your submission. Fort Smith Police chief Danny Baker issued a statement, saying, "I am heartbroken for this tragic loss of life and my prayers are with Debras family and friends. Thank you for your dedicated service Donna!. A . Female carer who bit off part of a pub landlady's ear during vicious bar brawl is jailed for 14 months. She's a former 911 dispatcher who used to save lives with her calls daily. Luke Kenton For Dailymail.com The comments below have not been moderated, By "She was brokenhearted.". Is there maybe things we need to look at in our response? 'I believe that everything was done that was humanely possible given the circumstances at that time to save Ms Stevens life. Debbie Stevens (left) drowned on Aug. 24 while being scolded by 911 dispatcher Donna Reneau. Stevens later drowned. FORT SMITH, Ark. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. "This will teach you next time don't drive in the water," Reneau said. Stevens can be heard asking the dispatcher at one point in the call. We call on Fort Smith Police Department and Fort Smith city officials to investigate and prosecute Donna Reneau for these crimes that led to this woman's death in failing to do her job. But Reneau's handling of the dying woman's call has opened a . Her car had been swept . So now he is demanding an apology. Donna Reneau is a former Fort Smith, Arkansas emergency dispatcher who berated terrified caller Debra Stevens after she was swept away in her car by a flash flood. She's a former 911 dispatcher who used to save lives with her calls daily. 911 dispatcher, Donna Reneau, who was working . Bettering work conditions Did they find her? In the recording of the 911 call, which drew national attention, 911 operator Donna Reneau told Stevens to "shut up" and chastised her for driving into floodwaters. Volunteers join frantic hunt for aristocrat's missing baby: Hundreds of police and search and rescue experts Father-of-three drowned in hot tub while on weekend break to Welsh seaside with his family, inquest hears. When dealing with someone during a critical incident, particularly when the person is in hysterics, it is often necessary to take a stern or commanding tone, or to even raise ones voice, Pitts wrote, according to the Democrat-Gazette. Reneau put in her two weeks notice before the woman's drowning, and the call came in during her last shift. Audio recording of the phone call revealed that dispatcher Donna Reneau of Fort Smith, Arkansas, spoke callously to Debbie Stevens, 47, who was on a paper route in the 5800 block of Kinkead Avenue when her car was caught in a flash . ", The department received hundreds of phone calls saying Reneau was disrespectful for scolding Stevens as she sobbed and asked for help and for telling her this will teach you next time dont drive in the water., Debra Stevens, 47, pictured left was on her regular newspaper route when a flash flood swept up her car. 'You're not going to die. Baker said Thursday that Donna Reneau was working her final shift Aug. 24, when Debra Stevens died. ", The department received hundreds of phone calls saying Reneau was disrespectful for scolding Stevens as she sobbed and asked for help and for telling her this will teach you next time dont drive in the water., Debra Stevens, 47, pictured left was on her regular newspaper route when a flash flood swept up her car. I don't know why you're freaking out. 5.04am: Dispatcher advised responders cannot get to the car because of high water moving swiftly. Stevens had been delivering. Congratulations to Donna Reneau for being selected as the Fire Dispatcher of the Year! Stevens, 47, had. The Fort Smith Police Department is currently conducting an internal investigation concerning first responders response time and to see if Reneau did what she was supposed to do. When Stevens called, the Fort Smith Police Department staff was stretched thin. Reneau submitted her resignation before the incident happened and August 24th was her last day on . She regretted telling her she was not going to die most of all, but she also regretted not being more kind and understanding, the report stated. They just weren't able to get to her on time,' Mitchell said. ', After it started to sound like Stevens was speaking underwater, Reneau said: 'Miss Debbie? It goes on to reveal that Reneau became a certified Communications Training Officer at the beginning of 2018 and was responsible for training new hires at the department. Hopefully, the changes they make to their policies get them back in the good graces of the people. "We all heard that. The Associated Press contributed. All Rights Reserved. She couldve been deemed to have broken human resource standards if shed still been an employee but nothing to merit a measure of discipline as strict as termination, Pitts wrote. Youre not going to die. and When we are unsuccessful, it hurts.". Unfortunately, what she's going to be remembered for more than all the calls where she maybe actually helped people is one of the last calls of her career where she berated a drowning woman named Debra Stevens who called 911 for help after getting caught up in a flash flood. Debra Stevens did die. "And, while the operator's response to this extremely tense and dynamic event sounds calloused and uncaring at times, sincere efforts were being made to locate and save Mrs. Stevens," the police statement added. In the 22-minute audio recording of the 911 call, Stevens explains to Reneau that she took a shortcut while driving through the parking lot of an apartment building. Miss Debbie' before saying 'Oh my god. Ralph R. Ortega For Dailymail.com Story continues below. I dont want us interacting with anyone in that way, whether its a life or death situation or not, Baker said. Girl, 2, looks star-struck as she presents Kate with a gift of Daffodils for St David's Mike Tindall's latest money-making scheme! Pictured above is dashcam video of authorities searching for her car. A frantic Debbie Stevens sobbed as she was on the phone with an operator in Arkansas while she was trapped in a flash flood on the morning of Aug. 24. She was not criminally charged in the death of 47-year-old Debra Stevens'. That same day Janet Smith called 911 also when being caught by a flash flood inside her car. "She was brokenhearted.". 'Am I not on the phone with you trying to get you some help?' https://t.co/FqdZG2W6zZ pic.twitter.com/nlO9WLILcP, FOX 32 News (@fox32news) August 31, 2019. There were other factors that contributed to what went wrong. They're not going to get themselves in danger just because you put yourself in danger.'. As Stevens became more frantic, she kept asking how much longer it would take for first responders to get to her because no one was helping her. They had an incredible amount of difficulty getting to the car because of the flood conditions. An internal investigation concluded that operator Donna Reneau violated policy by being rude during an August call with Debbie Stevens shortly before her death, but she did nothing that would have warranted her termination, according to the Fort Smith Police Department. 4.38am: 911 call received. In fact, the evidence shows that while Operator Reneau spoke rudely to Mrs. Stevens during the call, she actually bumped the call up in the order of importance shortly after receiving it', the department said Friday, reports ABC News. . . For five years, she worked as a 911 dispatcher and she was so good at her job that she was actually certified to help other people, too. The Fort Smith Police Department and Fire Department's investigation likely means former Fort Smith dispatcher Donna Reneau will not face charges. Her actions should make everyone sick. At one point, amid Stevens' cries and pleas for help, Reneau told her, "You're not gonna die, I don't know why you're freaking out Reneau also told the two she would be paid four-times more working as a cardiac sonographer than as a Fort Smith dispatcher. 911 dispatcher who scolded drowning woman won't face charges - ABC News. "I don't know why you are freaking out. She told 911: "Please help me, I don't want to die! When authorities finally located Stevens' car, they pulled her body from the vehicle and tried to perform CPR. Bodycam video released by the Fort Smith Police Department shows first responders searching for Stevens' car when she called 911 to say she was trapped in flood waters, Stevens repeatedly told the dispatcher that she was going to die because the water was rising up past her chest and had engulfed the inside of her SUV. Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on September 2019 and was updated with the latest information. Added Stevens' sister-in-law, Rebeca Stevens-Stewart, "Even in those moments her last moments she was still Debbie. Donna Reneau had resigned and was working her final shift when she took a frantic 22-minute call from Debra Stevens' minutes before she died. "She called her for help and that's the only reason she called her, was for help," Stevens' mother-in-law, Diane Primm-Smith, told Inside Edition. A 911 dispatcher told a drowning woman to "shut up" in the moments before she died on August 24, reports said. 'Probably having another dispatcher in there at that time would have been helpful but remember we're talking at 4.30 in the morning so getting folks down there to assist with dispatch would have been difficult', Baker said. Stevens becomes increasingly distraught as the call progresses and the operator at one point responds by telling Stevens, "This will teach you, next time don't drive in the water. Next time don't drive in the water." 5.58am: Rescuers get to vehicle and remove Stevens' body. 06:54 GMT 23 Dec 2019 "The 911 call came in at 4:38 a.m. and was answered by Donna Reneau, who had previously turned in her two . Did they find her? She was later found dead. "I'm scared. She had submitted her two-weeks' notice in early August. Quoted as part of the post, Reneau brags about how much she values the work that she does and cares about those in need who call in for help. See for yourself by trying this new quiz devised by cardiologists One in five teenage boys or their friends have been offered work supplying drugs by county lines gangs who Head over heels for Kate! - A former 911 dispatcher in Arkansas was cleared of any wrongdoing in how she handled a call in which she scolded a panicking woman for driving into floodwaters before she drowned. But what we want to do is not lose sight of the fact first responders were dispatched, the call was bumped in priority, and as much effort was done by our first responders to get to her," Fort Smith City Administrator Carl Geffken said. Every police officer on duty is busy on other calls. 5.02am: Responders report they have located the vehicle. , updated U.S. FOX News. ", "I'm sorry if I'm being rude, I'm just scared," Stevens can be heard telling Reneau on the phone. Stevens eventually drowned. Officers with the Fort Smith Police Department have also received death threats over the situation. Police have called the dispatcher, Donna Reneau, "callous and uncaring," reported USA Today.. Stevens called at around 4:30 a.m. and said that she was in an emergency situation. After an internal investigation, it was deemed that Reneau had violated department policy by acting rude toward Stevens. August 30, 2019 06:45 PM A woman drowned in a flash flood in Arkansas on Saturday after calling 911 to say she was trapped in her car as water was rising around her. At one point, Stevens got frantic and had this exchange with the dispatcher. The call was taken by dispatcher Donna Reneau who was working her last shift as a 911 operator after putting in her two-weeks' notice of resignation. The investigation was. You had to go right over it, she said. Unfortunately, in the process, she got trapped by flash flooding. Is there maybe things we need to look at in our response? UPDATE: FORT SMITH, Ark. Police spokesman Aric Mitchell said Friday that Reneau dispatched emergency personnel to find Stevens, 47, who'd driven into an apartment complex parking lot to try to avoid flooding. 4.41am: Fire department is dispatched to the scene. 5.04am: Dispatcher advised responders cannot get to the car because of high water moving swiftly. The review concluded that she had done her jobas required. 11K views 3 years ago August 24th Debra Stevens called 911 dispatcher Donna Reneau. The audio of the 911 call was. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. This job comes with stress and can be very busy at times, but working with the people I do makes it worth it'. Responders begin trying to get to vehicle, donning life vests and ropes. Quoted as part of the post, Reneau brags about how much she values the work that she does and cares about those in need who call in for help. Published August 31, 2019. Police acknowledged the 911 call sounded 'calloused and uncaring at times' but insisted that 'sincere efforts' were made to try and located Stevens. FORT SMITH, Ark. When you call 911, you aren't often worried about being Miss Manners. "We'll get you help and get you out of there." 11 Strict Rules That Elon Musk Makes His Girlfriends & Wives Follow, Justin Bieber Suspected As The Father Of Kourtney Kardashian's Son Reign (Instead Of Scott Disick), Why Kate Moss Was 'Scared' & 'Couldn't Get Out Of Bed For Weeks' After Working With Mark Wahlberg. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. (KFSM) New information has been released about a former Fort Smith 911 dispatcher criticized for her interactions with a drowning woman. The first crews arrived on the scene about ten minutes later but had difficulty identifying Stevens exact location due to the high waters. This person right here, let's make her famous for being the sorriest human being in Arkansas right now." Treat went on to say, "As Debra Stevens was swept away in flood waters in Fort Smith last week, this dispatcher did nothing but patronize and belittle her, as she slowly drowned. Pictured above is dashcam video of authorities searching for her car, Reneau could be heard telling the first responders searching for her: 'I'm on the phone with her now and she is legit freaking out. Absolutely', he said. Feel like youre always looking at a screen? Video related to donna reneau: 5 fast facts you need to know, 911 dispatcher under fire for chastising woman who later died drowning in flash flood, Debra Stevens SUV was caught in a flash flood when she called 911. 5.16am: Rescue boat arrives and is launched. When Stevens explained that she hadnt seen the water coming before her car was swept up in it, Reneau made no attempt to mask her disbelief. In the video above: Severe floodwaters hit Arkansas Watch the latest news and stream for free on 7plus >> But seven months later, she would become known for telling drowning woman Debra Stevens to "shut up". 2023byTango Publishing Corporation All Rights Reserved. Reneau, a five-year veteran of the department, was working her final shift that Saturday morning. Reneau does not face any criminal charges in Stevens' death. Dispatcher Donna Reneau from the Fort Smith Police Department had given her two-weeks notice and was working her very last shift when 47-year-old Debra Stevens called in. The manner that she spoke during this conversation would have probably been addressed, but it would have been more a rudeness quality-type service complaint. 'Donna is one of the dedicated operators that you would hear on the other end of the phone if you called with a problem in the middle of the night Donna is a professional and dedicated operator that always does an outstanding job. Is there maybe things we need to look at in our response? Stevens was on the phone with Reneau for 24 minutes as rescue crews searched for her vehicle. Audio recordings between dispatchers and first responders during an effort to try to save a Fort Smith woman from a flash flood have been released. (Facebook/Fort Smith Police Department) An Arkansas woman who called 911 to get help was met with mockery and a lecture by the dispatcher as she was drowning. "She called her for help and that's the only reason she called her, was for help," Stevens' mother-in-law, Diane Primm-Smith, told Inside Edition. Reneau's interactions with Stevens made national news. Her interactions with a drowning woman to what went wrong ', After it started to sound like Stevens on... Stevens ' sister-in-law, Rebeca Stevens-Stewart, `` you 're gon na have to up! Get themselves in danger. ' trying to rescue others Fire department dispatched. 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