A messy roommate, a coffee complaint and more: Here are the top 10 nuisance 911 calls made in B.C.

Last year had many legitimate emergencies in British Columbia as the province dealt with record heat and cold, mass flooding and a particularly bad wildfire season, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then there were the less legitimate 911 calls in 2021.

In what has become a tradition, B.C.'s 911 service provider released its list of top 10 "nuisance calls" made to its emergency line.

According to staff at E-Comm, these were the most eye-roll-inducing of the year.

1. The barista mixed up the caller's coffee order;

2. A pedestrian was splashed while on a sidewalk;

3. The caller requested a COVID-19 test;

4. The caller wanted to know how to become a 911 call taker;

5. The caller wanted to know where to vote in the federal election;

6. The caller was looking for the weather forecast;

7. The caller wanted directions;

8. The bus "wasn't coming," according to the caller;

9. The caller asked about COVID-19 restrictions; and

10. The caller wanted to report a messy roommate.

The list is a fun feature each year, but it's also meant to remind residents of the province that these lines should not be used for anything other than an emergency.

"At a time when demand for emergency services is higher than it ever has been, it is extremely concerning that people continue to misuse 911 lines," E-Comm director of communications Jasmine Bradley said in a statement Friday.

She called it disheartening, especially during a year where so many B.C. communities were dealing with crises.

"Our call takers are trained to treat every call that comes through as an emergency, until they can determine otherwise. Every second that they spend speaking with someone who is upset about a mixed up coffee order or wanting to report a messy roommate, is time they could have been helping someone in a life-threatening situation," Bradley said.

Last year, in particular, was challenging, as unprecedented call volumes and issues with staff shortages at both E-Comm and the B.C. Ambulance Service meant many who needed help had to wait on hold or weren't able to get through to an operator at all.

The situation was bad enough that E-Comm announced a new sytem as a stop-gap measure: call takers no longer have to stay on the line until a call is transferred.

The intent is that fewer people will be left waiting for their initial 911 call to be answered, but the union representing these call takers said it was a Band-Aid solution, and said that not knowing whether a caller is getting the help they need "goes against every single fibre of our being."