911 question

[abelenkpe2]

When I was pregnant with my son (2004) and taking CPR at the Red Cross in Los Angeles I was told to always keep my land line because 911 calls were answered quicker using a land line than a cell phone. The teacher explained that 911 calls from a cell phone in CA would be re-directed to Sacramento and that the response time was slower as they would not know where you are versus using a land line where emergency personnel would literally know where you were right away.

So of course we kept our land line.

The other day I called 911 to report a burglary in progress. The phone rang ten times and no one answered at all. We ended up calling the police station directly after looking up the number. Of course the robber was long gone. Anyone know what's up with that?

Or was it just a fluke? Who should I contact to find out? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[NYC_SKP]

1. This may vary from community to community and from state to state.

I suggest you call your local police non-emergency number to find out more about 911 calls from mobile devices.

Things may have changed.

As to your burglary, I'm glad you aren't harmed, and I understand that operators often cannot get to calls as quickly as we would like.

That, again, is a question for your local PD.

:thumbsup:

[abelenkpe2]

7. Ok, Thanks!

I'll give them a call at lunch time. The whole thing really messed us up emotionally. Thanks again!

[skypilot]

2. Don't have an anwer for you. Just wanted to say...

...that I can sympathize with you regarding the ordeal of dialing 911 and have the phone ring and ring and ring. I had that happen to me a few years ago when the boiler in my apartment building caught fire. I was in a first floor apartment so the damned thing was right below me. Someone finally answered, but listening to that phone ring and ring while smoke and fire alarms blared around me was quite unnerving to say the very least.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

3. Answer: Schwarzenegger

[NoNothing]

4. Most of the time

You will get the county dispatch rather than your local one, but they do know where your address and the approximate location of where your phone is calling from.

[JuniperLea]

5. I called 911 from my cell a couple of months ago...

And they knew my exact address. At the end of the call they said there would be someone right out, and I asked how? They hadn't asked for my address... the 911 operator recited my address to me... I live in LA County, just on the edge of Orange County in So Cal.

[abelenkpe2]

9. Nice to know!

I'm gonna call the non-emergency number at lunch to find out what I can. It would be fabulous if the cell phone worked as well. I was worried that maybe they were understaffed due to budget cutbacks or something.

Clearly I'm not thinking straight. :)

[FLyellowdog]

6. 911 cell in WNC is routed to next county depending on where in your county you live.

And no, they can't access your address here according to dispatcher I called once. Not a good thing.

[ieoeja]

8. In Chicago 911 triangulates using the cell towers in an instant.

I know a couple times folks called from a bar using their cells, and the operator knew where they were.

And lest we forget, the CIA was unaware of this capability when they kidnapped an Italian Muslim cleric. The Italians tracked them through the cell phones all the way to Egypt.

Then we had a woman call from the trunk of her car after a car-jacking. Again, cops tracked her from Chicago to Detroit where they were able to free her.


However, you will note that in that last incident they were not able to get to her until the car was stopped for a time in Detroit. I don't know if this was the constant movement, a relative scarcity of cell towers in the intervening country, or just different (re: too expensive for rural areas) technology.

[superduperfarleft]

10. Here:

http://firstaid.about.com/od/callingforhelp/bb/cell911.htm

Cell Phones Don't Work the Same
When you make a 911 call on a cell phone, you are sending signals through the air. The tower that picks up your phone's signal may be near, but it isn't enough to tell the dispatcher where to find you. It's like playing "Marco Polo" in the pool - blindfolded with just sound to guide you.

The Federal Communications Commission has required that all wireless carriers be able to pinpoint your location for the 911 dispatchers, but the rule is coming in phases and there are plenty of exceptions.

* FCC Consumer Facts on Wireless 911 Services

Location, Location, Location
When you call 911 from a cell phone, the call often lands in a regional center. A call-taker in a far-away city or county may answer your call. To get help to you, there are two pieces of information the call-taker needs to know immediately:

1. Tell the call-taker which city you're calling from.
2. Tell the call-taker what type of emergency you have.

Different emergency services use different dispatch centers. With the right information, the call-taker will transfer you to the right center.

[HopeHoops]

11. E-911 was supposed to universally solve that problem long ago.

Reality check: most areas don't have it yet.

Fucked UP check: most cell phones are billed a surcharge for E-911 even if it isn't implemented in their zone.