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How do you call 911 in another city?


J-rap
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A story in the news yesterday brought back an incident a few years ago that I still haven't figured out.

 

I was out of town for the night, picking up our daughter at the airport and staying overnight with a relative so we wouldn't have to make the 3-hour drive home late at night.

 

I called home at one point, and my husband, who was home alone, answered the phone.  Not to be overly dramatic, but I could tell immediately that his life was in danger, and that in fact, he was dying.  He was not able to make any calls himself, and it was a miracle that he could even answer the phone.

 

I passed my phone to my daughter and she kept him on the line, calmly trying to talk to him.  I got on her cell phone, and called 911.  I asked them to please send an ambulance to my house immediately, and told them our address.  When they realized our house was 3 hours away from the city I was calling from, they said they couldn't help me.  They said I needed to call 911 in my own town.

 

I frantically asked them how I was supposed to do that since I wasn't there, but they said they didn't know.  I asked them if they could transfer me to a 911 service in my town.  They said no.  I asked if they could give me the number of the police department or hospital in my hometown, and they said no.  They said there was nothing they could help me with, at all.

 

I then had to frantically spend time calling information in order to get the phone number of our local hospital, and then call the hospital and convince them to send an ambulance to my home where my husband was dying, unconscious by then, and not able to answer the door. 

 

The person who answered at the hospital dragged her feet for about a minute, but then understood the extreme urgency of the situation.  She knew to call the sheriff's dept. (to enter our home) and immediately sent an ambulance.

 

But, why couldn't 911 help me?  How was I supposed to call 911 in my home town, if I was out of town?  About a year later, I actually wrote a letter and complained to the 911 service in the city I was in, but they said they had no record of the call.  They said that cell phones go to a different 911 number.  But if that's the case, it seems like my cell phone should have connected with the 911 number associated with its area code, which actually IS in our home town.

 

In the end, no one could help me or even explain why it happened the way it did.

 

Does anyone know?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In our county, they advertise that they are only funded for 911 calls in the county, and do not receive from outside. So they recommend residents keep the phone number of their sheriff office's dispatch handy, and if you need assistance for someone while you yourself are calling from another location beyond the county - you call the sheriff's emergency number. His dispatchers are then authorized to place an in county 911 call for the person you are concerned about. If you have the sheriff's number in your contact's list of your cell phone, it only takes a matter of seconds.

 

The US does not have a National Dispatch center for routing 911 calls between counties. Additionally, every county and state has a different level of funding which adds complexity to the problem. So there is no method by which dispatchers can route concerns outside of their call region. Frustrating, and a problem that really needs to be addressed on both a state and federal level.

 

So that's my advice. Keep your sheriff's emergency number in your phone. When you are away, call and tell them what the emergency is, and then sheriff dispatch will take over.

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So glad your DH is ok!

 

I had the same thing happen years ago. I was on the phone with a friend in another state when he lost consciousness. I went through the same agony, and finally called 911 again. They helped me call the sheriff in the other state. My friend survived but was in ICU for quite some time. I always wonder if it was due to the delay. :(

 

Listening in.

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You don't. You put the numbers for your local precinct, fire department, and hospital on your phone so this doesn't happen again (and I'm certainly glad this turned out all right).

 

I mean, look at it from the dispatcher's position. You were really asking for them to just have a catalog of every 911 center in the country? (And hospital, and fire department, and police department.) How many of those must there be? No, instead they have to do the same thing you did - check with information or google to get the local numbers. What if her local center was swamped that day? Her job is to deal with local emergencies, not to spend precious minutes tracking down your phone numbers.

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You don't. You put the numbers for your local precinct, fire department, and hospital on your phone so this doesn't happen again (and I'm certainly glad this turned out all right).

 

I mean, look at it from the dispatcher's position. You were really asking for them to just have a catalog of every 911 center in the country? (And hospital, and fire department, and police department.) How many of those must there be? No, instead they have to do the same thing you did - check with information or google to get the local numbers. What if her local center was swamped that day? Her job is to deal with local emergencies, not to spend precious minutes tracking down your phone numbers.

 

Well ok, but dispatchers are sitting at a computer right.  It does not at all seem like a stretch to me that they could be the voice of reason in an emergency like this and could do 30 seconds of googling while holding someone on the line and at least get someone a number.  Having the ability to transfer a call doesn't seem like it should be a stretch either.

 

I just tested this theory with 3 cities and was able to find the sheriff's number in less than 30 seconds with a under 5 word google search.  I just can't imagine calling 911 and having them shrug and say, oh well, good luck with that.  Don't you wish you had your local sheriff's number in your purse?

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The responses are correct. One needs to have the regular phone numbers of the police, hospital, etc., available.  We have a magicJack with a phone number in the USA. We don't live in the USA, so I do not have it registered for 911 service.  Since many people travel with their magicJack, the company is very clear in explaining that if you change locations you need to notify them to change the 911 service to the address where you are at. If hot, you should not use it to call 911..

 

Many years ago, in Texas, there was a car accident near to my home one night.   I went outside and to the scene of the accident to see what happened. The car was on fire. I called 911 on my cell phone. I believe the 911 that answered was in the County. When I explained where I was, they transferred me to the City 911 and I requested the Police, Fire and an Ambulance.   That was simple, compared to being 3 hours from home...

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Well ok, but dispatchers are sitting at a computer right.  It does not at all seem like a stretch to me that they could be the voice of reason in an emergency like this and could do 30 seconds of googling while holding someone on the line and at least get someone a number.  Having the ability to transfer a call doesn't seem like it should be a stretch either.

 

I just tested this theory with 3 cities and was able to find the sheriff's number in less than 30 seconds with a under 5 word google search.  I just can't imagine calling 911 and having them shrug and say, oh well, good luck with that.  Don't you wish you had your local sheriff's number in your purse?

 

Okay, so you spend 30 seconds on this non-local call... and 30 seconds on the next... and 30 seconds on the one after that....

 

All these half-minutes are starting to add up.

 

And I bet you picked cities where you already knew how to spell the names, and that either were well-known or near to you or you'd already searched. Google tailors its search results based on what it thinks you're looking for. If I google "pizza place", it doesn't show me results from Alaska, you know?

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I recently moved about an hour away from my previous home and we are in a new area code.  We have kept our old cell phone numbers (so our cells have a different area code than where we currently live).  Is this an issue?  Could I not call 911 from my cell phone and get our local EMS?  Not sure I am understanding but I never even thought about this.

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Hmm... interesting!  I guess I just assumed that 911 had the ability to connect me with 911 anywhere in the country.  But it does seem like in a real emergency, they could spend 30 seconds finding the correct number for me.

 

I think I'll add my sheriff's number to my phone right now.

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I recently moved about an hour away from my previous home and we are in a new area code.  We have kept our old cell phone numbers (so our cells have a different area code than where we currently live).  Is this an issue?  Could I not call 911 from my cell phone and get our local EMS?  Not sure I am understanding but I never even thought about this.

 

Cell phone 911 calls are routed based on cell phone tower, and usually go to the nearest highway patrol 911 (I'm not sure that last part is universally true). So you'll get something local to you, and they should be able to transfer you to the appropriate call center, but it will still require a transfer. 

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Since multiquote appears broken...

 

Whether they can find the number for you probably depends on their computer policies and what they actually have available. Many might not have the ability to pull up that information even if they wanted to help.

 

Yes, you can't assume that, because they have a computer in front of them, they have unrestricted internet access. 

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I would guess some places would look up the number for you and others probably wouldn't.  Probably depends on the individual setup of the dispatch office where you get connected.  The 911 dispatch in our county is run by the Sheriff's Office.  I didn't know before I moved here that every place is different.  Working at the fire station and dealing with the dispatchers on a regular basis, I can tell your that our particular group is not very helpful.  :glare:

 

I think it is awful that they would not even help you by looking up the number, but I could totally see our dispatchers doing that.  And as for the argument that they are only there to help local emergencies, that is ridiculous.  They are part of an emergency response system.  If they don't have a technical or legal duty to help, they still have an ethical duty.  But some really don't give a rat's patooty and that's the truth.  

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I just looked it up, and in my NY county the 911 Center answers non-emergency calls too. So if I'm away and needed to send EMS to my house, I could call the non-emergency number, and be talking to the same dispatcher I would have reached calling from my kitchen.

 

Seems like a pretty good way to operate! And I just added the non-emergency numbers to my phone. Not sure why it never occurred to me before this thread, so thank you OP. :)

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Whether they can find the number for you probably depends on their computer policies and what they actually have available. Many might not have the ability to pull up that information even if they wanted to help.

Not to mention there might be liability issues involved with them referring you to another 911 center. Several city names can be found in many states. What if you wanted Memphis, MO for example but got transferred instead to TN? Sure you'll figure out the mistake eventually, but precious minutes are lost in the meantime.
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Over the years, I have called 911 on my cell phone quite a few times while on the road when I have seen unsafe conditions -- a car fire, a raging house fire with no responders in sight (that one was scary!), a fire by the side of the road, an accident on a blind turn, traffic light issues, and once while on a severe icy road with several accidents, cars out of control, and kids walking on the road (another scary one - they needed to close the road ASAP!).  In each case, I (or my passenger) immediately got the appropriate 911 location, or the one "next door", in which case they immediately transferred me.  This was the case even if I was out of state and well into a different area code.  The main issue has been that they of course want me to describe where I am, which is tricky when I'm driving in an unfamiliar area.  (I of course pull over before calling, except in the icy road scenario where pulling over would not have been safe, so I just tried to keep my car under control and not hit anyone or anything, while my passenger called.)

 

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Okay, so you spend 30 seconds on this non-local call... and 30 seconds on the next... and 30 seconds on the one after that....

 

All these half-minutes are starting to add up.

 

And I bet you picked cities where you already knew how to spell the names, and that either were well-known or near to you or you'd already searched. Google tailors its search results based on what it thinks you're looking for. If I google "pizza place", it doesn't show me results from Alaska, you know?

 

Ok - well I intentionally picked rural cities that were outside the state I lived in to do my search I have no connection with.  I really doubt that the 911 system is jammed with non local based emergency calls that dispatchers just need to hang up on immediately.  911 has to deal and redirect much less urgent calls than this all the time (fender benders, minor crime, disabled vehicles, power outages, etc) .  They also ask for spelling and more information over the phone regularly. I know someone who works as a dispatcher locally.  Dispatchers cannot be successfully sued when there is a good faith effort to get help to someone.  People have tried. 

 

We can agree to disagree on this issue.  It may be working "as designed", but I'd call it a failure in the system if it's involving an actual emergency.

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Not to mention there might be liability issues involved with them referring you to another 911 center. Several city names can be found in many states. What if you wanted Memphis, MO for example but got transferred instead to TN? Sure you'll figure out the mistake eventually, but precious minutes are lost in the meantime.

I used to dispatch near Memphis, MO, ironically. 911 calls from cell phones in that county would often hit our tower, and they were one of the few I could transfer outright to the correct agency. I definitely couldn't transfer a call to Memphis, TN, though.

 

When I got these types of calls, I was one of two dispatchers in the room who answered 911 and nonemergency lines and dispatched 14 departments (police/fire/EMS). We did not have a protocol for these calls (or about a zillion other things, long story), but I would get the name, call back number, reason for the call, and address to check. Then I'd look up the nonemergency number for the department they needed and give it to the caller. After hanging up, I'd personally call the correct agency and rely my information to make sure they actually got it, covering my own butt.

 

Honestly though, there were times when I had fires and people not breathing and officers in hazardous situations and if someone hadn't heard from a relative across the country in three days and needed a welfare check, I'd have to refer them to Google for the number. I could only do so much. I was sympathetic and polite about it, other stressed dispatchers were, um, less so. But people also used to call us to look up pizza delivery numbers too, as if we were the information number. Good grief.

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I recently moved about an hour away from my previous home and we are in a new area code.  We have kept our old cell phone numbers (so our cells have a different area code than where we currently live).  Is this an issue?  Could I not call 911 from my cell phone and get our local EMS?  Not sure I am understanding but I never even thought about this.

 

 

I suggest that you call your cell phone provider and ask them if your Cell phone would call 911 where you lived before, or, in the location you happen to be in, when you call 911 with your cell phone.  

 

If it is registered with 911 in your old location, you need to change it to your new location, as you would with a magicJack.

 

I suspect that there are a lot of people who call 911 and run into the problem the OP did.

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I just looked it up, and in my NY county the 911 Center answers non-emergency calls too. So if I'm away and needed to send EMS to my house, I could call the non-emergency number, and be talking to the same dispatcher I would have reached calling from my kitchen.

 

Seems like a pretty good way to operate! And I just added the non-emergency numbers to my phone. Not sure why it never occurred to me before this thread, so thank you OP. :)

 

I don't know why I never thought to add them, either.  I've added our sheriff and police and hospital now.  I guess I should add fire too!

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Over the years, I have called 911 on my cell phone quite a few times while on the road when I have seen unsafe conditions -- a car fire, a raging house fire with no responders in sight (that one was scary!), a fire by the side of the road, an accident on a blind turn, traffic light issues, and once while on a severe icy road with several accidents, cars out of control, and kids walking on the road (another scary one - they needed to close the road ASAP!).  In each case, I (or my passenger) immediately got the appropriate 911 location, or the one "next door", in which case they immediately transferred me.  This was the case even if I was out of state and well into a different area code.  The main issue has been that they of course want me to describe where I am, which is tricky when I'm driving in an unfamiliar area.  (I of course pull over before calling, except in the icy road scenario where pulling over would not have been safe, so I just tried to keep my car under control and not hit anyone or anything, while my passenger called.)

 

 

 

In my situation, it must have been because I was several hours away from where the emergency event was taking place.  I'm still surprised that a 911 operator can't just punch in "city, state" and have my call transferred to the local 911.  I just assumed that all emergency response systems were linked, and set up to do that.  But at least I knew the name of the closest hospital (in my hometown) whose number I needed to look up and call.  What if I were talking to a friend who lived in a big city far away I didn't know at all, and she had a heart attack while talking to me on the phone?  I guess I'd need to spend time looking up her city emergency numbers.  What if I didn't have a computer or a smart phone?  Or can you call "0" for operator still and get help?  Or maybe 411.

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I used to dispatch near Memphis, MO, ironically. 911 calls from cell phones in that county would often hit our tower, and they were one of the few I could transfer outright to the correct agency. I definitely couldn't transfer a call to Memphis, TN, though.

 

When I got these types of calls, I was one of two dispatchers in the room who answered 911 and nonemergency lines and dispatched 14 departments (police/fire/EMS). We did not have a protocol for these calls (or about a zillion other things, long story), but I would get the name, call back number, reason for the call, and address to check. Then I'd look up the nonemergency number for the department they needed and give it to the caller. After hanging up, I'd personally call the correct agency and rely my information to make sure they actually got it, covering my own butt.

 

Honestly though, there were times when I had fires and people not breathing and officers in hazardous situations and if someone hadn't heard from a relative across the country in three days and needed a welfare check, I'd have to refer them to Google for the number. I could only do so much. I was sympathetic and polite about it, other stressed dispatchers were, um, less so. But people also used to call us to look up pizza delivery numbers too, as if we were the information number. Good grief.

 

That must be frustrating when non-emergency calls get through to 911.  And for pizza delivery?  My goodness.  Still, my own emergency was life or death, and I still think it's a little odd that they couldn't look up a number for me, in my own state even, given the circumstances.

 

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I used to dispatch near Memphis, MO, ironically. 911 calls from cell phones in that county would often hit our tower, and they were one of the few I could transfer outright to the correct agency. I definitely couldn't transfer a call to Memphis, TN, though.

 

When I got these types of calls, I was one of two dispatchers in the room who answered 911 and nonemergency lines and dispatched 14 departments (police/fire/EMS). We did not have a protocol for these calls (or about a zillion other things, long story), but I would get the name, call back number, reason for the call, and address to check. Then I'd look up the nonemergency number for the department they needed and give it to the caller. After hanging up, I'd personally call the correct agency and rely my information to make sure they actually got it, covering my own butt.

 

Honestly though, there were times when I had fires and people not breathing and officers in hazardous situations and if someone hadn't heard from a relative across the country in three days and needed a welfare check, I'd have to refer them to Google for the number. I could only do so much. I was sympathetic and polite about it, other stressed dispatchers were, um, less so. But people also used to call us to look up pizza delivery numbers too, as if we were the information number. Good grief.

 

That must be frustrating when non-emergency calls get through to 911.  And for pizza delivery?  My goodness.  Still, my own emergency was life or death, and I still think it's a little odd that they couldn't look up a number for me, in the same state even, given the circumstances.

 

Interesting to hear how you handled calls!  It certainly sounds like you worked hard to do everything you could.

 

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That must be frustrating when non-emergency calls get through to 911. And for pizza delivery? My goodness. Still, my own emergency was life or death, and I still think it's a little odd that they couldn't look up a number for me, in the same state even, given the circumstances.

 

Interesting to hear how you handled calls! It certainly sounds like you worked hard to do everything you could.

 

Most of the pizza delivery type requests went through the non-emergency phone, which was sitting next to the blinky-flashy light and blaring 911 phone. Sometimes people would call the non-emergency line for something ridiculous, then get angry at the response and call 911... only to get the same person answering the call.

 

My very first solo 911 call was a man wanting an officer to retrieve his truck keys from his ex-girlfriend's cleavage. I much preferred looking up numbers to other departments.

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The more I think about this, the more I believe that with a Cell phone, which is a very Mobile device, that if one dials 911,the call should go to the nearest emergency call center.  I doubt that Cell phones are registered for 911 service to a specific physical address.  

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I don't have any more answers than you have gotten here, but thanks to this thread, I've put our local services numbers in my phone and date books, since I often am out of town with (some elderly) family members are staying here.  Maybe this should become a PSA thread.

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Wow! I find this horrifying!

 

If we call 000, we get the national telephone service and they will divert us to either police, fire or ambulance in whichever state we require. The person taking the calls for those departments do prefer you know the address of the emergency, of course, but if you don't, they'll work it out.

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In the SF Bay Area:

 

"Calling Ă¢â‚¬Ëœ911Ă¢â‚¬â„¢ on your cellular phone anywhere in the Bay Area usually connects you to the CHP (Highway Patrol) regional dispatch center in Vallejo.  Waiting times can be lengthy to reach a CHP dispatcher, who will then have to transfer your call back to a local agencyĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s emergency dispatch center.  So, unless you are on a freeway (or have other reason to call the CHP) Ă¢â‚¬â€œ do NOT dial Ă¢â‚¬Ëœ911Ă¢â‚¬â„¢ on your cell phone.  Instead, pre-program the local seven-digit emergency numbers for the cities where you live and work, and dial them directly in an emergency."

 

The list of local numbers can be found in this document [Word], found on this page.

 

http://www.ucop.edu/risk-services/_files/emergency/911local_cellphone_numbers.doc

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Wow! I find this horrifying!

 

If we call 000, we get the national telephone service and they will divert us to either police, fire or ambulance in whichever state we require. The person taking the calls for those departments do prefer you know the address of the emergency, of course, but if you don't, they'll work it out.

 

999 calls here are handled by a specialist BT (phone) operator, who passes the calls to the appropriate services, so I suspect that one could give an address anywhere in the country.

 

ETA: here's an article

 

http://home.bt.com/news/bt-life/history-of-bt/happy-birthday-999-the-uks-emergency-call-service-turns-75-11363796759046

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Here it's the sheriff's office that handles dispatch/911. Depending on where I am in the state, if I call 911 on my cell phone, I'll be sent to the wrong county's dispatch. Cell phone towers don't always correlated with county/jurisdiction lines. In our case, it was an auto accident and the dispatcher gave me the direct number for the correct county's dispatch. But in my case, it was an issue of being on the line between two counties and certainly not the first time it has happened. I would expect them to know the number in our case. I would not expect them to know the number for the dispatcher several counties over or in another state.

 

We'd need a far more coordinated effort in the US for that to be possible. As it is, we have a patchwork effort that varies from county to county and state to state. I'd either use a smart phone to look up the info I needed in that case or I'd call someone who had access to the internet and could look it up for me.

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In our county, they advertise that they are only funded for 911 calls in the county, and do not receive from outside. So they recommend residents keep the phone number of their sheriff office's dispatch handy, and if you need assistance for someone while you yourself are calling from another location beyond the county - you call the sheriff's emergency number. His dispatchers are then authorized to place an in county 911 call for the person you are concerned about. If you have the sheriff's number in your contact's list of your cell phone, it only takes a matter of seconds.

 

The US does not have a National Dispatch center for routing 911 calls between counties. Additionally, every county and state has a different level of funding which adds complexity to the problem. So there is no method by which dispatchers can route concerns outside of their call region. Frustrating, and a problem that really needs to be addressed on both a state and federal level.

 

So that's my advice. Keep your sheriff's emergency number in your phone. When you are away, call and tell them what the emergency is, and then sheriff dispatch will take over.

This truly depends on the number of PSAPs around, the set-up of what is hopefully an E-911 system, who runs the dispatch center, and myriad other variables. You can keep the landline of the a county sheriff's department in your phone; however, know that many of those numbers only have someone available to pick up during business hours because the line doesn't ring into the dispatch center.

 

Frankly, assuming this episode took place within the past, say, 5 years, the 911 center you rang into should have been able to transfer you. And they had a record of the call; they just didn't want you following through with anything. 911 calls are taped AND stored.

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Yes, this thread is puzzling to me.

 

We were in a hit-and-run car accident in Houston a few years ago. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed 911. Even though my area code is San Antonio, I was immediately connected to the Houston dispatcher (which is a different area code). I did nothing special to make that happen, and until this thread, it never occurred to me that this was unusual.

Kinsa, after reading this thread I admit to being puzzled, too. I think it's because of the state. Although Texas doesn't have an state wide 911 system, due to federal and state grants most cities and even the rural areas have invested in upgraded and enhanced 911 systems and dispatchers are generally able to transfer any 911 calls to the center the caller needs. Or they will keep the caller on the line and call the desired dispatch center and either relay the information or patch the caller through. This happens almost every day in my area.

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Wow! I find this horrifying!

 

If we call 000, we get the national telephone service and they will divert us to either police, fire or ambulance in whichever state we require. The person taking the calls for those departments do prefer you know the address of the emergency, of course, but if you don't, they'll work it out.

 

:iagree: :iagree:

 

I cannot believe that USA such a flawed system.

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I think the problem here was that the caller called 911 from location A and was routed to that local 911 center. The problem was that the emergency was at location B.....several hours away. She needed to be able to reach the 911 center at location B but couldn't as her call was routed to the center closest to where she was.

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I think the problem here was that the caller called 911 from location A and was routed to that local 911 center. The problem was that the emergency was at location B.....several hours away. She needed to be able to reach the 911 center at location B but couldn't as her call was routed to the center closest to where she was.

 

Yes indeed, but in the UK (and I think in Australia) your call is routed to a national call centre that can put you through to any local station nationwide.  So I could call 999 and say, 'I'm in Scotland, but I just spoke to my mother and she has fallen and needs an ambulance in Bristol - her address is XYZ' and they could directly dispatch someone to help her, because it's an integrated system.  The fact that Bristol is eight hours away from me makes no difference.

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Yes indeed, but in the UK (and I think in Australia) your call is routed to a national call centre that can put you through to any local station nationwide.  So I could call 999 and say, 'I'm in Scotland, but I just spoke to my mother and she has fallen and needs an ambulance in Bristol - her address is XYZ' and they could directly dispatch someone to help her, because it's an integrated system.  The fact that Bristol is eight hours away makes no difference.

exactly. :iagree:

 

 to find that America has something that does not function like this is flabbergasting

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I guess the issue is we as a country are so darn big and 911 is only now being revamped and upgraded in many cities is part of the issue.   The entire system needs to be revamped but we have hundreds of millions of people and a vast geographical area.  That's going to cost in both money and time.  Sure sounds like it needs to be done, though.  With all the other national issues at the forefront right now, I doubt revamping 911 is on the fast track.

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I guess the issue is we as a country are so darn big and 911 is only now being revamped and upgraded in many cities is part of the issue.   The entire system needs to be revamped but we have hundreds of millions of people and a vast geographical area.  That's going to cost in both money and time.  Sure sounds like it needs to be done, though.  With all the other national issues at the forefront right now, I doubt revamping 911 is on the fast track.

 

I think it's more to do with how policy is implemented, rather than the absolute size of the country.  Traditionally in the UK, policy is put in place top-down unless local looks better, and I think that the opposite is true in the US, isn't it?  There's no reason why a national system wouldn't work with five times as many people (the relative populations of the US vs. UK).  And if you think about it, some US states have many fewer than 70 million people, and still (it seems) don't have a state-wide system.

 

ETA: there are inefficiencies in both top down and bottom up planning.  In this case, top down works better.

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Yes indeed, but in the UK (and I think in Australia) your call is routed to a national call centre that can put you through to any local station nationwide.  So I could call 999 and say, 'I'm in Scotland, but I just spoke to my mother and she has fallen and needs an ambulance in Bristol - her address is XYZ' and they could directly dispatch someone to help her, because it's an integrated system.  The fact that Bristol is eight hours away from me makes no difference.

 

It's the same in Sweden. If I call 112 I can tell them an address anywhere in the country and they will dispatch the correct service to the correct address.

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I think the problem here was that the caller called 911 from location A and was routed to that local 911 center. The problem was that the emergency was at location B.....several hours away. She needed to be able to reach the 911 center at location B but couldn't as her call was routed to the center closest to where she was.

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I guess the issue is we as a country are so darn big and 911 is only now being revamped and upgraded in many cities is part of the issue.   The entire system needs to be revamped but we have hundreds of millions of people and a vast geographical area.  That's going to cost in both money and time.  Sure sounds like it needs to be done, though.  With all the other national issues at the forefront right now, I doubt revamping 911 is on the fast track.

Australia is roughly the same size

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It occasionally happens here that the nation wide number directs to the wrong state. They work it out pretty quickly, take the required information and transfer it to the right state to act on.

 

It's not like the US doesn't have the technology required.

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I think the problem here was that the caller called 911 from location A and was routed to that local 911 center. The problem was that the emergency was at location B.....several hours away. She needed to be able to reach the 911 center at location B but couldn't as her call was routed to the center closest to where she was.

 

Yes, this is exactly what happened. 

 

However, when I later wrote a letter to the main 911 service in location A, they wrote back that they had no record of the call -- even though I could give them the exact date and hour (but not minute) that it took place.  They said that due to my calling from a cell phone, it was routed to yet a different 911 service, not the main metro one in location A. 

 

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Yes indeed, but in the UK (and I think in Australia) your call is routed to a national call centre that can put you through to any local station nationwide.  So I could call 999 and say, 'I'm in Scotland, but I just spoke to my mother and she has fallen and needs an ambulance in Bristol - her address is XYZ' and they could directly dispatch someone to help her, because it's an integrated system.  The fact that Bristol is eight hours away from me makes no difference.

 

This is how I assumed it was in the U.S., too!

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Australia is roughly the same size

 

With less than 1/10th the population. I'd imagine that makes a difference. Though since the post you're quoting specifically talks about geographical size, it's perfectly true.

 

I'd also be curious about how the population is distributed. Looking it up, the US and Australia appear to have a similar rural/urban population ratio, but I feel like Australia has larger areas of very sparsely or uninhabited land, and that may make a difference.

 

Which doesn't mean the US system has to be the way it is. We could go with larger regional or statewide call centers, with closer integration between those call centers.

 

I know I've called the police for a welfare check on someone in another state before, but it was years ago, and I can't remember how I went about doing it.

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Who is calling 911 for this stuff? I always call local police (or power company, etc.) for stuff like that.

 

This is semi off topic, but I always wonder who to call when you are driving and see a problem. I think we tried to report something on the interstate once and got the runaround as to who to call. Sheriff dept. for this city or that or hwy patrol, etc. I never know who I would call if I saw something where I needed to alert the police.

 

Nowadays with smart phones a lot of people can google for the local information via their phone. But if your phone is dying or you don't have internet there or don't have a smart phone, this is more complicated.

 

Lots of people call 911 for minor stuff. Lots of people also call the nonemergency line and it turns into major stuff. I've had 911 calls to report dead birds in the road and non emergency calls to let us know about the dead guy in the yard.

 

In our state, dialing *55 from a cell phone will get you the highway patrol. Any kind of interstate traffic issue (accident, erratic driver, debris on the road, etc.) can probably go there first. I think the number is different for different states, though. They'll notify the right agencies or handle the call themselves.

 

For non-US people, how is your emergency system funded? This may be the big difference. Our funding came from landline fees the phone company was required to collect (later added wireless line fees), local taxes or bond issues, and federal or state grants (usually for specific equipment upgrades or training). Each agency we dispatched for also paid in a fee for our services. We did not have money from the state or federal budget earmarked for 911.

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For non-US people, how is your emergency system funded? This may be the big difference. Our funding came from landline fees the phone company was required to collect (later added wireless line fees), local taxes or bond issues, and federal or state grants (usually for specific equipment upgrades or training). Each agency we dispatched for also paid in a fee for our services. We did not have money from the state or federal budget earmarked for 911.

 

I had to look this up.  The phone service itself is part of the contract of telephone providers that offer land lines - it's negotiated at the time that they pay for a licence.  The telephone companies (there are two or three that have emergency call centres) all work on interconnecting systems, so any joins are invisible to the caller.

 

The police are funded through a combination of national and local government finance, mostly national.  The fire service is the same.  Ambulances are part of the NHS and are largely nationally funded.  Air ambulances, for strange historical reasons, are charities.  They don't get government funding as such, but they do get money from the Lottery.

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