JimmieJoe / KC6YRU

The 4-1-1 on 9-1-1

9-1-1 is intended to be used for emergencies.  Barking dogs, loud music, and other routine calls should be placed on the seven digit number to your local law enforcement agency.  Find those numbers, and put them in your speed dials and memory slots, and they’ll be available when you want them.

If you need an ambulance, or a fire truck, or see a crime in progress, THAT’s when you dial 9-1-1.  If you’re in doubt, err on the side of caution, and dial 9-1-1.  There is no charge, and you won’t get in trouble if you don’t really have an emergency but called anyway.

Here’s a little known fact about 9-1-1:  it’s not one big room, with everybody’s 9-1-1 line going there.  We can’t stand up and yell “Hey!  Boston!  Line 2!” (thanks, Linda – I love that image!)  Another little known fact:  in all but the biggest cities, the same people who answer the seven digit numbers answer the 9-1-1 lines.  The thing is, 9-1-1 lines have priority.  And they are limited in number.  If you’re calling in on one for something that is NOT an emergency, you are tying up a line that someone else may need.  You’re also tying up an operator who may be delayed answering the next 9-1-1 line for a real emergency.

When you call 9-1-1 about, say, a traffic accident, and it’s taking forever for someone to answer, it’s most likely due to everyone else around you also calling on their phones, and we’re working our way through multiple reports about the same incident.  Don’t hang up and dial again, that just puts you at the end of the line.  The phones are all computers now, and they line up the calls in the order they are received.

When you dial 9-1-1 from your cell phone, here’s the most important thing you need to know:

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