911 is still very young compared to other emergency services.
So easy, even akindergartner can learn to call 911.
As simple as that sounds, you might be surprised to find out just how complicated 911 really is.
PeopleImages / Getty Images
It’s a universal number, but it doesn’t work the same everywhere.
Here are some secrets of 911 and how they might affect you.
One Number, Many Call Centers
There isn’t a central 911 call center for everyone.
In fact, not every call center actually answers 911 calls directly.
A 911 call center is known as a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP).
According to the most recentFCC registry, there are over 8,000 PSAPs in the United States.
Many are known as primary PSAPs and more than 1,400 are known as secondary PSAPs.
A primary PSAP is where the phone rings when you call 911.
These are the front doors of emergency services.
In most cases, these are government agencies, usually law enforcement.
New York City has five primary PSAPs registered with the FCC.
They’re all in Brooklyn and all are registered to the NYPD.
Each of the PSAPs answers 911 calls for a different borough.
A secondary PSAP is where a 911 call may be transferred.
Primary PSAPs often handle law enforcement duties and sometimes other types of emergencies.
In many cases, secondary PSAPs handle fires or medical emergencies.
In Los Angeles County there are 26 primary PSAPs.
Just because you’re in one area, however, doesn’t mean you could’tcall 911 for somewhere else.
Be clear what you need.
The call taker in Georgia will help you get in contact with the PSAP in Idaho.
It’s not a common call for emergency call takers to handle, but it does happen.
In many cases, the secondary PSAP isn’t even in the same building as the primary.
The new call taker will ask questions pertaining to your actual emergency.
This might even be confirmed a second time by each voice.
Don’t be discouraged by this.
It’s not like the call takers forgot what you said or weren’t paying attention.
The location of an emergency is the most important piece of information in any 911 call.
There’s a common misconception that 911 computers always know where you are when you call.
This function is known as Enhanced 911 (E911) and is available in most places around the country.
It uses a national database for addresses, but the database is sometimes wrong.
Plus, that only works with landlines (phones on a phone line plugged into the wall).
Cell phones don’t always relay your location to the PSAP.
Internet phones work another way entirely.
It’s because of these technical problems that the call takers ask you so often for your location.
It’s a perception thing.
In the mind of the caller, they already know what the emergency is.
They want to tell the call taker and would love it if the call taker would just listen.
The problem is: not everyone communicates the same.
Some folks are better at getting their points across than others.
The first and most important tip for calling 911 is:Don’t hang up.
When the call taker is ready to disconnect the call, he or she will tell you.
Stay as calm as can be and listen carefully to the questions.
Don’t get frustrated.
The more accurately the call taker gets the information the more quickly you will get help.
Who’s Talking to the Ambulance?
One last thing to remember about PSAPs: these are not usually one-person operations.
In the past, the dispatcher was a one-man shop.
He took the calls over a phone propped on his shoulder.
He put the card in the punch clock to record the times.
Today we’ve come a long way.
Now the center has dozens of people answering multiple lines.
Everyone is wearing a headset and sitting at work stations with multiple computer screens.
Information is shared instantly, sometimes over great distances.
There is more training and much more accountability.
Despite all that, the job is essentially the same as it was two decades agoand just as hard.
NENA The 9-1-1 Association.9-1-1 origin and history.
Federal Communications Commission.911 Master PSAP Registry.
