Apple Park: What employees told 911 after walking into glass walls
Video: Apple employees are calling 911 after walking into glass walls
Reports surfaced last week Apple employees at the new Apple Park campus in Cupertino are walking into the glass dividers that surround work spaces inside the headquarters. Now, The Chronicle obtained via a public-records request the 911 calls related to injuries suffered by workers.
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The call transcripts describe injuries to three distracted employees who walked into 45-foot tall curved panels of safety glass. It's not clear how many employees total have suffered injuries since April 2017 when workers could enter the new headquarters.
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Apple Park's first 911 caller on Jan. 2 describes someone walked into a glass wall pane:
Dispatcher: Medical emergency, 185, what are you reporting?
Caller: This is Apple security reporting a medical injury.
Dispatcher: OK, what is the address of the emergency?
Caller: Just a moment.
Person in the background, near the caller: If you could let them know Apple Park Way.
Caller: Apple Park Way.
Dispatcher: What is the address?
Caller: Apple Park Way. 1 Apple Park Way.
Dispatcher: Can you repeat to make sure I have it correct?
Caller: 1 Apple Park Way.
Dispatcher: Where specifically should they go?
Caller: Transit center, 5A.
Dispatcher: Transit center -- is that in any specific area at Apple?
Caller: It's off of Tantau Avenue.
Caller: Is that right at 1 Apple Park Way though?
Caller: It's going to be Gate 5A off of Tantau Avenue.
Dispatcher: So the address you gave me at 1 Apple Park Way is that exactly where we're going?
Caller: Yes.
Dispatcher: ...so tell me exactly what happened.
Caller: We had an individual who ran into a glass wall pane and they hit their head. They have a small cut on their head and they are bleeding, slightly disoriented. We have on site security with them right now.
Dispatcher: Are you with the patient now?
Caller: No, I am not with the patient. We are trying to have a security unit call in right now so I connect you over.
Dispatcher: How old is the patient?
Caller: Late 20s.
Dispatcher: Is the patient male or female?
Caller: Male.
Dispatcher: Is he awake?
Caller: He is conscious.
Dispatcher: Is he breathing?
Caller: That we do not know. Yes, yes, he's conscious and breathing.
Dispatcher: Let me go ahead here and update the paramedics. When did this happen?
Caller: It happened around five minutes ago. Around 12:05.
Dispatcher: Is there any serious bleeding?
Caller: Yes, from the head.
Dispatcher: Is he completely alert?
Caller: Yes.
Dispatcher: All right, one moment. Let me update the paramedics and I'll have some more instructions for you.
OK, I'm sending the paramedics to help you now just stay on the line and I'll tell you what exactly to do next. You can just refer this to your security. Do not move him unless he is in danger and do not splint any injuries. From now on, do not let him have anything to eat or drink, it might make him sick or cause further problems. And don't move him unless it's absolutely necessary. Tell him to be still and wait for help to arrive.
I'm going to give you the control bleeding instructions so they can help that ... so listen carefully and let's make sure we do it right. Get clean dry cloth or towel and place it right on the wound and tell him to press down firmly and do not lift it up to look.
Caller: Press on the wound and do not look up.
Dispatcher: Correct, correct. I want someone to watch him very closely. If he becomes less awake and vomits, quickly turn him on his side. Before the responders arrive -- I'm sure you have already done this -- have someone flag down and help them guide the paramedics in. If he gets worse in any way, call us back immediately for further instructions.
Caller: Will do.
Dispatcher: OK, thank you.
Caller: Thank you, have a nice day.
Dispatcher: You too. Bye.
The second injury that day appeared to be somewhat more serious, with Apple security staff unsure whether the patient was fully conscious and aware, and probably in need of stitches to repair a cut over his eye:
Call 2 on Jan. 2, 2018 indicated the employee needed stitches:
Dispatcher: Sheriff emergency 336. What's the address of the emergency?
Caller: It's going to be 1 Apple Park, Cupertino. It's going to be a medical emergency.
Dispatcher: It's give me one moment... Can you verify the address of the emergency please?
Caller: It's going to be 1 Apple Park Way, Cupertino.
Dispatcher: OK and is that a business? What building is it in?
Caller: Yes, it's going to be Apple campus.
Dispatcher: What building is it in?
Caller: It's going to be in the main building, section (is) the transit center, just outside of the main campus.
Dispatcher: Tell me exactly what happened.
Caller: OK. So we had an employee, he was on campus and he walked into a glass window, hitting his head, has a little bit of a cut on the eyebrow.
Dispatcher: OK, are you with the patient now?
Caller: Uh, no. I'm calling from our call center. We have security on site with the patient.
Dispatcher: OK, how old is the patient?
Caller: Um, unknown.
Dispatcher: OK, is the patient male or female?
Caller: It's going to be a male, adult.
Dispatcher: Is he awake?
Caller: Yes.
Dispatcher: Is he breathing?
Caller: Yes.
Dispatcher: Give me one moment.
Caller: Looks like he is going to be a middle-aged male.
Dispatcher: OK, and where is he bleeding from?
Caller: A cut above the eyebrow.
Dispatcher: Anywhere else?
Caller: No.
Dispatcher: Is he completely alert?
Caller: Unknown at this time. We're still waiting for an update.
Dispatcher: OK. Is he breathing normally?
Caller: Yes, to my knowledge, yeah.
Dispatcher: Is the blood spurting or pouring out?
Caller: Um, I think it's just leaking ... a small cut.
Dispatcher: Does he have a bleeding disorder or is on blood thinners?
Caller: Not to our knowledge.
Dispatcher: Give me one moment to update them.
Person near caller, in the background: There's a cut on the eyebrow. According to our, let's call it, first aid certified personnel it looks like it's going to (require) stitches.
Dispatcher: Stay on the line, I"ll tell you what to do next. For now, assure him that help is on the way. Don't let him have anything to eat or drink. Might make him sick or cause further problems. Do you have a gate number?
Caller: It's going to be Gate 5 on the Tantau side. Gate 5 A, 5 Adam.
Dispatcher: Do not move him unless absolutely necessary. Let him be still and let him wait for help to arrive. I'll update them on the location. OK, thank you sir.
Caller: Thank you very much, have a good one.
The caller in call 3 on Jan. 4, 2018 calls the incident silly:
Dispatcher: Emergency services 305. What's the address of the emergency?
Caller: Hi, 1 Apple Park Way.
Dispatcher: I'm sorry you are breaking. What the address?
Caller: 1 Apple Park Way.
Dispatcher: OK. Is this a building or room number?
Caller: It's going to be in section 9, fourth floor. You are going to go in through the Transit Center, which is Gate 5A, A as in Adam. I have Jessica on the line who is with the patient who hit his head on the glass.
Dispatcher: OK. Hello? Tell me exactly what happened.
Caller 2: Let me have the gentleman it happened to speak for himself.
Dispatcher: That's OK. Ma'am? Hello? Hi, sir?
Patient: Hi, yes.
Dispatcher: Tell me exactly what happened.
Patient: Um, I walked into a glass door on the first floor of Apple Park when I was trying to go outside, which was very silly.
Dispatcher: You keep breaking up. You walked through a glass door?
Patient: I didn't walk through a glass door. I walked into a glass door.
Dispatcher: OK, one second. Did you injure your head?
Patient: I hit my head.
Dispatcher: How old are you?
Patient: 23.
Dispatcher: Hold on one second, OK. When did this happen?
Patient: About a half an hour ago.
Dispatcher: Is there any serious bleeding?
Patient: No.
Dispatcher: Just one moment. Just one second while I update the paramedics, just stay on the line. I'm sending the paramedics to help you now. I'll tell you exactly what to do next.
Do not move unless you are in danger and do not splint any injuries, OK? Help is on the way. From now don't have anything to eat or drink, it might make you sick or cause further problems. And don't move around unless it is absolutely necessary. Just be still and wait for help to arrive, OK?
I'm going to give you some instructions before I let you go. Before the responders arrive, please put away any pets, gather your medication and if anything changes, call us back immediately for further instructions, OK?
Patient: OK.
Dispatcher: I'll stay with you on the line as long as I can and if anything changes, let me know. Tell me when the paramedics arrive.
Caller 2: We're in a locked area of the building. Do I need to meet them to escort them to this area?
Caller 1: This is Lauren, from Apple security. We have some officers on site and who will go ahead and let the EMS through. For the dispatcher, it's through Gate 5A, as in Adam near the transit center on Tantau where you will be entering.
Bloomberg reported in February that in an effort to maintain the sleekness of Apple Park's design, post-its and other makeshift warnings applied to the glass are being removed.
"It's frustrating to talk about this building in terms of absurd, large numbers," Apple's design chief Jony Ive told Wired when Apple Park opened. "It makes for an impressive statistic, but you don't live in an impressive statistic. While it is a technical marvel to make glass at this scale, that's not the achievement. The achievement is to make a building where so many people can connect and collaborate and walk and talk."
We have reached out to Apple for comment, and will update you if we learn more.
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