911 Dispatcher Falls Asleep During Emergency Call In Maryland (AUDIO)

Falling asleep on the job is always a bad idea, but it's a whole lot worse when you're a 911 dispatcher.

A Maryland woman noticed her husband was having trouble breathing on April 4, according to the Daily Mail. When she called 911 for help, the operator connected her to an ambulance dispatcher.

After the call was transferred, however, the distraught woman was met first with silence, then with audible snoring.

"Hello? Hello?," the caller said without getting any response.

The original operator realized the woman was receiving no help, and jumped in to take over the call, ABC reports. However, confusion ensued when the original operator thought that the snoring sounds were being made by the woman's husband.

Six minutes into the call, the ambulance dispatcher awoke and asked the caller for her address. The woman's husband was taken to a hospital, and he ultimately recovered. Luckily, no complications resulted from the delay, the New York Daily News reports.

The dozing dispatcher, whose name hasn't been released, was 17 hours into a 24-hour shift when he nodded off. Officials put him on paid administrative leave, according to KDSK. Assistant Chief Scott Graham says that in his 24 years on the job, "This is the only time a dispatcher has ever fallen asleep on a 911 call."