When To Call

You should call 9-1-1 whenever you need to report a crime, need police assistance, or need fire or immediate medical assistance.

You should not call 9-1-1:

• To report power or cable outages, unless downed wires present a hazard.
• To ask about community events, for directions, or for information.

When You Call

1. Speak calmly and clearly.
2. Tell the emergency operator what type of problem you have.
3. Answer the questions that the emergency operator asks. Be prepared to give the location of the problem, your phone number and your name.
4. Cooperate with the emergency operator, some information that may not seem important to you could be very important to the responding emergency personnel.
5. Stay on the line if requested to do so by the emergency operator. Emergency units can be dispatched and on the way while you are still on the phone.
6. Follow the instructions that the emergency operator gives you.

Enhanced 9-1-1

Enhanced 9-1-1 is a system that provides the callers phone number and address to the emergency dispatcher when dialing 9-1-1. The emergency operator will still ask you your location and phone number as a precaution. Some phones, especially PBX exchanges, cellular, and some apartment private exchanges may not provide this information to the emergency operator.

If a hang-up call is received by the emergency operator on a 9-1-1 line a phone call will be made to the number that it came from to try to determine if there is a problem. If there is no answer or a suspicious response the police will be dispatched to the location. Often these calls occur when programming emergency numbers into phones or when children play with the phone.

Additional Information

To assist Fire and Police personnel in locating you make sure that your house numbers are clearly visible from the street. Paint the numbers a contrasting color and make sure that they are illuminated at night. Numbers on the street curbs can also assist in locating your house in an emergency.

Keep your address and phone number posted near each phone so that in an emergency the information is available . It is easy for a person to mix up or not remember these numbers in an emergency .

If you are calling from a cellular phone try to verify the location of the problem that you are calling about. Give the emergency operator your cellular and your home phone number.