Pa. 911 Operator to Sue County for Wrongful Termination
July 07--A former Luzerne County 911 call taker at the center of the dispatching error in a fatal Mocanaqua fire filed documents Monday indicating she plans to sue the county for wrongful termination.
Debra Pac filed papers initiating court action against the county, its Department of Public Safety, county council members and Manager Robert Lawton over her firing in June 2014. She did not immediately file a complaint.
Pac was the call taker who picked up a request for help from Holly Dzoch at about 10:45 a.m. May 15, 2014. According to court documents, Dzoch said she needed help at "76 Main St., Moc." Asked for clarification, Holly Dzoch went on to say she was in "Conyngham Borough, Mocanaqua," court records show.
Pac told everyone to get out of the house and began dispatching units to the address provided, which does not exist. The error was not corrected for eight minutes, and when firefighters finally doused the blaze, Dzoch's mother, 52-year-old Michelle Dzoch, was dead.
The family sued the county alleging negligence, but a federal judge in May threw out the case, saying there is no federal constitutional right to rescue services and that there was no evidence that the county acted in a way that created danger for Michelle Dzoch.
Copyright 2015 - The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
