NO ONE ANSWERED

after at least a dozen rigs I hung up and looked up the fire dept in the phonebook. Couple years ago when we got 911 I was happy I didnt have to remember the seperate police/fire/ems numbers. Guess Ill have to re-memorize them.


(On a related note, when your dad decides to set fire to some pasture type ground, make sure you can contain it without it spreading to nearby fields)

At least they didn't tell you, "No... sorry, you've got the wrong number... this is 9-1----------2."

"911 is a joke"

In Tallahasse I have never had a problem. Down here its likely to be busy...At least you get a nice recording to listen to while being stabbed to death

so 911 didnt happen?

Quoted: NO ONE ANSWERED after at least a dozen rigs I hung up and looked up the fire dept in the phonebook. Couple years ago when we got 911 I was happy I didnt have to remember the seperate police/fire/ems numbers. Guess Ill have to re-memorize them. (On a related note, when your dad decides to set fire to some pasture type ground, make sure you can contain it without it spreading to nearby fields)

We had the same thing happen a few weeks back. In a rural area it takes a while for the fire dept. to show up. We had it put out before they even got there. I called 911 on my cell and kept getting Illinois 911 they were able to notify our rural FD though.

Quoted: We had the same thing happen a few weeks back. In a rural area it takes a while for the fire dept. to show up. We had it put out before they even got there. I called 911 on my cell and kept getting Illinois 911 they were able to notify our rural FD though.

Once I got ahold of them, they only took about 15minutes for a Volunteer group to come the 10+minutes out to the farm, I was impressed with that.

<in a strong ebonics accent>"You sho-be ashamed of yoself . . .Don't you be prank callin' here no mo!"

Quoted: <in a strong ebonics accent>"You sho-be ashamed of yoself . . .Don't you be prank callin' here no mo!"

Last time I called 911 they gave me lip, said they wouldn't or couldn't do anything about the problem I was having.  I said, uh, oh, now the guy is banging on my door.  They said, don't hang up, stay on the phone.  I said, f--- y--, I can't stay on the phone.  (Loud clack of AR-15)  I said, never mind, I'll take care of this myself.  But if you have a deputy available later, tell him to drop off a body bag, looks like we'll be needing one.  

And I hung up.

A deputy was there in 2 minutes.

Quoted: Last time I called 911 they gave me lip, said they wouldn't or couldn't do anything about the problem I was having.  I said, uh, oh, now the guy is banging on my door.  They said, don't hang up, stay on the phone.  I said, f--- y--, I can't stay on the phone.  (Loud clack of AR-15)  I said, never mind, I'll take care of this myself.  But if you have a deputy available later, tell him to drop off a body bag, looks like we'll be needing one.   And I hung up. A deputy was there in 2 minutes.

Is this the week of reposting dumb shit or what?

I've called like twice in the last month.  Always get an answer and, I'll be damned, from a cell phone it directly connects to the local cops.  I'll never figure that out... friggin technology knows what cops to call.


- BG

You idiot, you need the new phone with the 11 button.
Didn't you get the memo?

You need the number to the police dispatcher. Skip 911! That is what I do at work when I have a delivery.

Quoted: I've called like twice in the last month.  Always get an answer and, I'll be damned, from a cell phone it directly connects to the local cops.  I'll never figure that out... friggin technology knows what cops to call. - BG

I think the computers know what cell site your call was received by and route the call to the  911 center for that location.  
<<------ETA, check out the post number

Quoted: I've called like twice in the last month.  Always get an answer and, I'll be damned, from a cell phone it directly connects to the local cops.  I'll never figure that out... friggin technology knows what cops to call. - BG

When you call 911 from a cell phone, it goes to the closest tower (usually - it goes to the tower with the most signal strength, which is usually the closest).  Whatever county/city that tower is located in is where the call is routed to.  The more rural areas, as in the early post, don't have this capability yet, so the State police usually take the calls.

Every once in a while, a phone will get bounced to a tower in a naboring county - you usually just have to call 911 again or ask to be transferred.  On rarer occasions, some sort of weird atmospheric phenomenon will occur, and cell phones will go a looong way off.  In the four years I've worked here, I've gotten 2 of those.  I'm in Indiana, and got calls once from Arizona, and once from New York.  One dispatcher here got a call from Germany .  But those are rare.

Quoted: You need the number to the police dispatcher. Skip 911! That is what I do at work when I have a delivery.

Where I'm at, our admin lines are the last thing answered - 911 calls always come first.  But your local area may vary.


And to the original poster:  I'm sorry that happened to you.  I've been reading about incidents like that lately from Tennessee.  I can't imagine a dispatch center that would allow that.  There are two exceptions:  1 - each center usually has a finite number of 911 lines (mine has 11).  If there is a major incident, those lines will all be ringing off the hook, and we just take them as quickly as we can.  2 - when you dial 911, it never goes directly to your local center.  For tracking and other purposes, each call is routed to a regional center, then a national center, then to the local agency.  Your phone may ring 3 times before your local center hears the first ring.    The center I'm at has the fastest average answer for the State of Indiana - we average less than half a second.  However, that's on our end - so each of those .5 second callers have probably been waiting for routing for 3-4 seconds before we get the call.

It really is improving.  Unfortunately, many people are switching to internet based phone services.  They're cheap, and they work great - unless you have to call 911.  Because they're net based, your call depends on the quality of your internet lines.  If you're in a choked broadband area, your call may take longer or be dropped.  If a car hits a powerline or cable line in front of your house and kills someone...you better hope you have a cell phone, becasue without power or internet (either one) - your phone isn't going to work.

last time I called they said "there's nothing we can do about that sir."When a motorist forced me off the road and I had the plate number!!!!!

Quoted: Quoted: I've called like twice in the last month.  Always get an answer and, I'll be damned, from a cell phone it directly connects to the local cops.  I'll never figure that out... friggin technology knows what cops to call. - BG When you call 911 from a cell phone, it goes to the closest tower (usually - it goes to the tower with the most signal strength, which is usually the closest).  Whatever county/city that tower is located in is where the call is routed to.  The more rural areas, as in the early post, don't have this capability yet, so the State police usually take the calls. Quoted: You need the number to the police dispatcher. Skip 911! That is what I do at work when I have a delivery. Where I'm at, our admin lines are the last thing answered - 911 calls always come first.  But your local area may vary. And to the original poster:  I'm sorry that happened to you.  I've been reading about incidents like that lately from Tennessee.  I can't imagine a dispatch center that would allow that.  There are two exceptions:  1 - each center usually has a finite number of 911 lines (mine has 11).  If there is a major incident, those lines will all be ringing off the hook, and we just take them as quickly as we can.  2 - when you dial 911, it never goes directly to your local center.  For tracking and other purposes, each call is routed to a regional center, then a national center, then to the local agency.  Your phone may ring 3 times before your local center hears the first ring.    The center I'm at has the fastest average answer for the State of Indiana - we average less than half a second.  However, that's on our end - so each of those .5 second callers have probably been waiting for routing for 3-4 seconds before we get the call. It really is improving.  Unfortunately, many people are switching to internet based phone services.  They're cheap, and they work great - unless you have to call 911.  Because they're net based, your call depends on the quality of your internet lines.  If you're in a choked broadband area, your call may take longer or be dropped.  If a car hits a powerline or cable line in front of your house and kills someone...you better hope you have a cell phone, becasue without power or internet (either one) - your phone isn't going to work.

I greatly appreciate your insight. Thank you for that, and thank you for what you do! Im sure my case was a small minority of 911 calls. But I was still angery about what happened if for no other reason than our taxes went up significantly enough for 911 to be voted down for 5+ years; and I just want it to work everytime.

Quoted: last time I called they said "there's nothing we can do about that sir."When a motorist forced me off the road and I had the plate number!!!!!

It makes a lot of people mad, but the only thing we can do is put out a BOL for a reckless driver.  If the driver didn't actually make contact with your vehicle, it's your word against his that he did anything.  If an officer doesn't see it, there's nothing they can legally do.

However, at least at my center, we'll always put out a BOL (be on the lookout).  If an officer sees the vehicle, they'll trail them and pull them over for any reason they can to figure out what their problem is.

Quoted: Quoted: Last time I called 911 they gave me lip, said they wouldn't or couldn't do anything about the problem I was having.  I said, uh, oh, now the guy is banging on my door.  They said, don't hang up, stay on the phone.  I said, f--- y--, I can't stay on the phone.  (Loud clack of AR-15)  I said, never mind, I'll take care of this myself.  But if you have a deputy available later, tell him to drop off a body bag, looks like we'll be needing one.   And I hung up. A deputy was there in 2 minutes. Is this the week of reposting dumb shit or what?

No, I'm certain that actually happened to him.
Not!

In Dallas, TX I have had to call more than once to get an answer.  On TV it is always instant, but I think few people realize that in real life during rush hour the .gov can’t always be there to help.  It is definitely a clear reminder that individual citizens must be prepared.

Quoted: I greatly appreciate your insight. Thank you for that, and thank you for what you do! Im sure my case was a small minority of 911 calls. But I was still angery about what happened if for no other reason than our taxes went up significantly enough for 911 to be voted down for 5+ years; and I just want it to work everytime.

Thanks for your comments.  It's rough on these boards sometimes.  People don't usually talk about their good experiences with 911, it's just the bad.  Sometimes, I'll try and jump in to explain the dispatchers actions.  Other times, I get just as mad as the posters that some dispatcher had the gall to do something stupid.  There are several...less than desirable...dispatchers where I work, but for the most part, they're pretty good.

People get mad at police or dispatchers when the law doesn't work their way.  Like John575, when someone does something stupid that causes you problems, there's not always a law that covers it.  It makes us just as frustrated as everyone else.  Sometime we can go beyond what we're supposed to...but I've gotten into trouble for that before myself.  I wish as much as any of you that we could do what was fair and right, instead of just what is legal.

We've got the 911 funding problems here too.  Because of a dispute between our City and County, we may end up having to reapply for our jobs at a lower pay rate in 2 years...we just don't know.  I feel for you, and am sorry for anyone who dials 911 and can't get through!

I call 911 for emergency situations on occasion, and never had a problem.

This week is actually National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.  You should be nice to your 911 dispatchers.  

http://www.apcointl.com/apcotelecomweek/
LMAO!

i witnessed an accident a few weeks back, when i called 911, on my cell. it routed me to CHP, where i had to listen for upwards of 3 minutes to spanish selections, then english...  i didnt speak to a person for 5 minutes...

that to me is disgusting... seriously, in an emergency 5 mins is life or death... thankfully the people were ok, cept for a broken ankle. but damn. it was infuriating...

Quoted: i witnessed an accident a few weeks back, when i called 911, on my cell. it routed me to CHP, where i had to listen for upwards of 3 minutes to spanish selections, then english...  i didnt speak to a person for 5 minutes... that to me is disgusting... seriously, in an emergency 5 mins is life or death... thankfully the people were ok, cept for a broken ankle. but damn. it was infuriating...

I completely agree with you.  That's ridiculous.