What happens when you dial 911?

• Your call is answered by the police agency having jurisdiction in the area the call is made from.
• If you are reporting a fire or medical emergency your call is transferred on the 911 system to us.
• Our EMDs will determine where you need help.
• We will obtain a callback number from you in case we are disconnected or need to contact you again.
• We will ask detailed questions concerning the nature of the emergency.
• These questions are used to discover the severity of the emergency and to determine what you can do to help the patient / situation until skilled assistance arrives.
• These questions are NOT to determine if you qualify for a response, in most cases help has already been dispatched while you talk to the EMD.
• As soon as the location and type of emergency is known the call is entered into our Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system.
• While our EMD call taker assists you on 911 the dispatcher is already sending help to you.  Our standard is to have help on the way in less than 60 seconds.
• In case of a serious problem or unstable condition our EMD call taker may stay on the line with you until help arrives.  In most cases the call is ended once all the necessary information is obtained.

What can you do to help?

• Call from a landline (non-cellular) phone if one is readily available.
• Know the address where help is needed.
• Stay calm and listen to the EMD call taker.
• Answer the EMDs questions.  These questions are not an interrogation, they are designed to determine what type and how much help to send, the severity of the call, and what instructions to give.
• Follow the EMDs instructions.  They are meant to help the patient.
• Don’t hang up until the EMD says you can. 
• If the situation changes before help arrives, call back.