What should you not call 911?

Do not call 911 for information, minor illness or injury, for your pets, or when your power is out. Whenever a 911 operator has to deal with non-emergency calls, it could cause a life-threatening delay in getting emergency assistance to someone who really needs it.

When you should and shouldn't call 911?

“If you come home to find someone has broken in while you were away, you should be calling the non-emergency line,” Rogala says. “You and your property are no longer in immediate danger.” However, Rogala notes, you should call 911 when a serious crime has occurred, such as an assault or robbery, even if it's now over.

Can you call 911 and not say anything?

The 911 Call Taker will ask, “Are you able to speak freely”? If the caller answers “No”, then the call is treated as an emergency. If there is still no answer, the 911 Call Taker will determine if the caller is a registered T911 user.

What are 4 things you should do when calling 911?

Should I call back 911 if accidentally called?

What should I do if I accidentally dial 911? If you dial 911 by mistake, or if a child in your home dials 911 when no emergency exists, do not hang up – that could make 911 officials think that an emergency exists, and possibly send responders to your location. Instead, simply explain to the call-taker what happened.

When NOT to Call 911

What happens if you call 911 and hang up?

a. All 9-1-1 hang-ups from landlines shall be called back by a call taker. The call taker will attempt to contact the caller once, if necessary, and determine the nature of the incident and an accurate location for the appropriate public safety response.

Does 911 know your location?

Despite most contemporary cell phones being equipped with GPS capabilities, that information is not automatically sent to emergency services when you call 911. Voice calls only send location through cell networks and towers as described above. The data exchange can, at best, take seconds or sometimes minutes.

What is the most important information when calling 911?

Know the name of the city or county you are in. Knowing the location is vital to getting the appropriate police, fire or EMS units to respond. Providing an accurate address is critically important when making a wireless 9-1-1 call.

What are 3 questions you should be prepared to answer when calling 911?

What are 4 situations you should call 911 due to sudden illness?

Severe or persistent vomiting or diarrhea. Coughing or vomiting blood. Suicidal or homicidal feelings. Difficulty speaking, or numbness or weakness in any part of your body.

Is it OK to text 911?

If you text to 911, dispatchers will ask if they can call you. Location is not as accurate with text as it is with a call. Be sure to text your exact address. A text or data plan is required to use Text-to-911.

Can you text 911 if you can't talk?

You should always call 911 if you can and text 911 only if you can't. Text-to-911 is beneficial to the Deaf, people with hearing loss or speech disabilities, and those who can't safely call 911. Text-to-911 is free, works through short message service (SMS) with cellular carriers, and requires a text or data plan.

How do you tell 911 you can't talk?

Here's how it works. Call 911, wait for an answer, then use your telephone's keypad to "talk" to the dispatcher. Press 1 if you need police, 2 for fire and 3 for an ambulance. If the dispatcher asks you questions, 4 means "yes" and 5 means "no."

Is it okay to call 911 to ask a question?

This needlessly burdens the 911 system with non-emergency calls and prevents call takers from answering true emergency calls. Do not call 911 to ask for directions, obtain a phone number of another County agency, or to contact a police officer, Sheriff's deputy or fire fighter.

Does 911 always take you to the hospital?

Some areas have non-emergent transport available if you call 911 and the problem is not life or limb threatening, such as minor injuries or illness, such as a sore throat. Minor injuries and illnesses generally don't need an ambulance, but there are always exceptions.

What questions do 911 operators ask?

Remember these questions: Where, What, Who, When, Why? When calling 9-1-1 for assistance, these are questions the dispatcher will ask you.

What is the first question a 911 operator asks?

What's the emergency? What's wrong? Where is the emergency? Give the address, include building number, apartment number, nearest cross street.

What is the first thing 911 operators say?

When you call 911, a call-taker will answer the phone and say "911" or "911, what's your emergency?". Ideally, you should tell the call-taker what the emergency is, for example: "My house is on fire!" "There's someone breaking into my home!"

What are 5 important things to know about calling 911?

Does 911 record before they answer?

Our systems provide 911 call centers, dispatchers, and other law enforcement agencies with synchronized recordings for each 911 call they answer and more. When a call comes in, even before the dispatcher answers, our systems are already recording the call.

Can all cell phones be tracked?

In short, yes. While turning off location services makes it much harder for people to track your phone, they can still glean its general whereabouts through your IP address, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals. Turning your phone off completely is the only way to prevent all tracking—unless someone has your IMEI, of course!

Can 911 track a cell phone number?

If you're on a cellphone, 911 can probably track you. However, any details you can provide may help with accuracy.

Can 911 track your landline phone?

When you call 911 using a landline, the call is traced through the phone number to the exact location it is attached to. When you call 911 using a cell phone, that is not the case! That phone number is not attached to any one location.

What happens if you call 911 for one second?

If you call 911, as soon as you hit the send button the call will be completed no matter how fast you hang up. Once you enter into the 911 system, you can't get out until a PSAP answers the call. Stay on the line and talk to the dispatcher.

How many times does the average person call 911?

In an average year, around 240 million 911 calls are made in the U.S.² That averages out to over 600,000 calls per day.