Before You Call 911: Things to Know in an Emergency
“I recently made an emergency call to 911, and while I’ve done this before, this was the first time I’ve placed a call to 911 when someone’s life was in jeopardy. I felt incredibly unprepared as the dispatcher asked me several questions I didn’t know the answers for.”
Sister Laurel Brady, who is an emergency dispatcher for a local police department has the following advice to help all of us be better prepared to respond:
Know the address you are calling from
If you don’t know the address, find a piece of mail which will have the address on it. Use the words north south east and west instead of front or back. (In Utah, the mountains are on the east for reference.) Don’t apologize for calling, it’s the right thing to do.
Things you can do to help
Dont say a lot of words. The dispatcher will ask questions and the best answers are short…”yes,” “no,” “I don’t know.”
While waiting, unlock the door, put away pets, gather medications. There is a “vial of life” program where people put their info in a large perscription bottle and keep it in the fridge. Responders are trained to look in the fridge for these. Also, program cell phones with “ICE” numbers…”in case of emergency” with a relative or friend’s number so you (and we) know who to call.
What if you can’t speak due to a medical issue or danger?
If you can’t speak for whatever reason, stay on the line and we will ask you to push a button on the phone for “yes” and then we will ask only yes/no questions. The most critical piece of information is the address. If we know nothing else we can still send help. Dont worry about what to say, the dispatcher will guide you. Just tell us you need police, fire, or paramedics and where and we will take it from there.
What information can I give that is the most helpful?
We will ask a lot of questions while help is enroute. It may seem annoying but we are looking for specific information. For medical problems we are concerned with level of consciousness, breathing, bleeding and chest pain. For police problems, we are concerned about weapons, alcohol or drugs, and suspects leaving or still on scene. For fires, we want everybody out, and info on exposures.