What I have realized over the years, is that often people are afraid to call 911 or go to the hospital (even when they really need to) because they don’t know what to expect. You can't tell me you have NEVER been home alone and thought "What would I do if such-and-such happens?" I just want to know, *just in case*... And also, how long would it take to track down your address by GPS if you're calling from a cell phone? Sometimes the call might be an erroneous "butt dial" or it could be someone under duress or suffering a medical emergency that impairs speech (such as a stroke). I said I was just curious! Don't cry wolf or they may not come when you really are in trouble. It's very difficult to ascertain which floor a caller is on when using a cell phone. Never hang up until you are told to do so by the 911 disp… When a 911 call comes in the dispatcher will assess the situation. Today is National Voter Registration Day! However, if you aren’t sure if your situation requires 911, go ahead and call. How 'Thong Song' video got past MTV censors, Knicks icon miffed at being 'accosted' by MSG security, One of the greatest fighters of all time isn’t done yet, ‘Harry Potter’ actress on racist vitriol she experienced, http://reversephonenumberlookup.enle.info/?3oUw. Then, when they discover that you’re just some idiot playing games, they will arrest you for abusing the 911 system. Usually, they will send someone out to see what is going on if you cannot talk. Are police restricted to taking only what is named on a search warrant? However, if your wireless phone is not "initialized" (meaning you do not have a contract for service with a wireless service provider), and your emergency call gets disconnected, you must call the emergency operator back because the operator does not have your telephone number and cannot contact you. Can an emergency dispatcher or police officer refuse to respond to a 911 call? The investigator will collect additional evidence. I like to be prepared for unexpected events... Or maybe I just watch too much CSI and Law & Order where people DO break in and hurt people. Stay calm; Dial 9-1-1; Either leave the phone hanging or make some sort of noise to let the dispatcher know there is an emergency. If you don’t speak English, the operator can access the Language Line and have an interpreter help you communicate with 911. Every 911 center in Northwest has a contract with an emergency translation service to deal with this. The assumption is that you are in trouble and unable to speak for some reason. Conn. governor on reopening: 'We are not Florida', 'Grey's Anatomy' fans shocked by character's death, Bad news for people who share a Netflix password, Damon's arrest exposes racial double standard, What Florida could tell us about the dreaded '4th wave', Digital-only artwork fetches nearly $70M at auction. Ask a question, get a great answer. Can a mentally ill person admit they are mentally ill or will they not comprehend that they are ? When you call 911 from a landline, emergency responders can find you—even if you don’t know where you are or you can’t speak. Massachusetts implemented the Silent Call Procedure back in the 1990s in order to facilitate communication with emergency responders when callers could not speak freely on the phone. However, the FCC states that 70% of 911 calls are placed using a cell phone. It'll be relayed to the responding officer to give him a better chance to prepare. The courts have repeatedly said that the police are for investigating crime and making arrests. This will also direct the call to a police call handler. People who called 911 and the police did nothing were not able to sue the police departments. And no, you will not be charged with a crime for mistakenly or accidentally calling 911 unless you harass the 911 center. When Donald is convicted of serious felonies and treasonous acts and is incarcerated will you still love him and will he love you. If its a cell in your name, they will look up the owner of that number. FCC Phase II E911 rules require wireless service providers to provide more precise location information to PSAPs; specifically, the latitude and longitude of the caller. If the phone line is still open and no one is talking to them, they will be sent. But what actually happens when you call 911, and where the heck did they get those numbers from? Its mental preparation. This will give you an opportunity to say something like, “I don’t need paramedics, can you call my friend or my neighbor?” But if you tell us it’s more serious, or you can’t speak, we will call the local paramedics for you. If there’s a reason to believe there’s danger, 911 dispatchers say that they will request your phone number from the carrier and attempt to return your call to follow up. First of all, if you call 911 by accident, stay on the line. Its good to think about these things. If there is no answer or only voicemail an officer will be sent. Tap here to turn on desktop notifications to get the news sent straight to you. Answer by Todd Jasper, Emergency Management Consultant. Or would they assume it was a prank/accidental call and ignore it? Enhanced 911 makes that possible. Call-takers can also look up or contact wireless companies to get subscriber information (such as the address used to register for the account) to give more clues as to the caller's location. We made it easy for you to exercise your right to vote! If you're near your home but somewhere else calling 911 on a cell, you probably won't be found. The Sheriff's Office says they understand misdials happens and give a helpful list telling people what they should do in the case of an accidental 911 call. In Massachusetts, callers can press “1” for police, “1” for the fire department, “3” for an ambulance, “4” to say “yes,” and “5” to say “no.”. That lets the 911 dispatcher know to act quickly and get an ambulance to you right away. It’s better to be safe than sorry. I don't know about other cities or states though. We will make sure that you are okay. If a dispatcher receives a silent 911 call, they will ask the caller to press a key corresponding to the service they need (1 for police, 2 for fire, 3 for an ambulance). If you call back from your phone — which the criminals dialed — you get the prompt to enter personal data. Brief being the operative word. They aren't required to intervene if they see a crime in progress. In that case, a translator will join the call and help the caller and operator to communicate effectively. This isn't true. Join Yahoo Answers and get 100 points today. You can sign in to vote the answer. When the call-taker answers a 911 call, the phone information pops up on a computer screen (see technology). Maybe you're injured, choking, or you're trying to seek help without alerting a criminal. I worked as a dispatcher for 28 years and any call to 9-1-1 was assumed to be purposeful until proven otherwise. The dispatcher is the person who actually sends out the police to you. If the caller has already hung up the line, the dispatcher will attempt to call the number back. If the address is near the cell tower that's sending out the call we'll check the address listed on that cell account. In the event that you are placed on hold, please do not hang up. All we need is a name, phone number, and a brief description. If the caller doesn’t respond, the call is routed through an automated system, which prompts callers to press “55” to indicate an emergency. They can locate you because of … It's a little bit more difficult to identify locations with cell phones (especially if the caller is in a multi-story structure). The result is that many requests to 911 do not involve true emergencies, which overloads the 911 system with non-emergency calls. If you don’t know the answer to a question, then say … This information must be accurate to within 50 to 300 meters depending upon the type of location technology used. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter. When you make the call, say, "I think it's a stroke." 911 should not be used for non-urgent situations, because EMTs, police, or other responders may be needed elsewhere. It was a car accident with no injuries which is not high on the priority list. Sometimes this is a great way if there is a burgular in the home and you do not want him to hear you calling 911.