How to Call 9-1-1

It seems like a simple question with an easy answer. Doesn’t it? However, there are specific items that a 911 operator needs to get from you and how you listen and answer their questions will speed up or delay the emergency response. The following is excerpted from the March 2019 Green Helmet (Newsletter) written by a CERT graduate who became a 9-1-1 dispatcher.

Written from the perspective of the 9-1-1 dispatcher:

When you call 9-1-1 you will get the following:

First, you will hear, “Fairfax County 9-1-1. Where is your emergency?”
You won’t hear what is your emergency. Why? Because if this is the only information I get before a disconnect, and I am unable to reestablish a connection, I have an address and can initiate a call. And if you are calling 9-1-1, listen carefully to that greeting to make sure you have reached the jurisdiction you were trying to contact. We, both parties on the call, are at the mercy of the phone providers and calls are not always routed to the proper dispatch center. In Fairfax County, I have received calls placed from all of the surrounding jurisdictions, including from Manassas and Prince George’s County. If you reach the wrong jurisdiction, immediately inform the dispatcher so that we can transfer you to the correct agency. After I get a location for the emergency, I will ask you for your name and a good call back number. This is also to help in case we get disconnected. When asked for a callback number, please don’t say, “Use the number I am calling from” because that information is not always correct. Sometimes the number the phone company provides is not always correct and sometimes the callback number we are given is not the one on our display.

We will be asking questions to determine the correct classification of the call which ensures the proper response is dispatched. With medical calls the questions are designed to get the right response as quickly as possible. Once we get the right classification entered, the call is sent for dispatch. We will be giving instructions and asking more questions to get information for the responders. This does not slow down the response and while we are still talking, the call is dispatched and responders are on the way. Please make sure you listen to the questions being asked and answer those questions.

For a motor vehicle accident, there is a little more involved. The initial questioning is designed to determine the correct apparatus response. Information needed to start the dispatch includes number of vehicles involved, number of injuries, type of accident and entrapment. A rear end accident will get a different response than a T-bone accident. Please answer the questions you are asked- note I said you will be asked the number of injuries. We will get the details of injuries later, more important is the number of injuries. We also ask the information in the order we do so that the notes on the call are in a standard order for the responders.

A Conversation from a Call regarding a motor vehicle accident:

The accident was at an intersection and I was trying to determine if the accident was a rear-end collision, a side-swipe, a head-on collision or a T-bone. The conversation went something like this:

9-1-1 Operator: “What kind of accident was it? Was it a T-bone?”
Caller: “Looks like there are a couple of neck injuries.”

9-1-1 Operator: “Is it a T-bone accident? And then to break the pattern in an effort to focus him, “Is anyone trapped?”
Caller: “They’ll probably need two or three collars – you need to get here quick!”

What they failed to realize was that by providing me information they thought I needed right away instead of the information that I actually needed, they delayed my ability to enter the call accurately.

After sending the call for dispatch, we will get more information. We will be asking specific questions, not necessarily looking for specifics. And in the dispatch center, we don’t type the victims with a color code. There are specific questions we have that are part of the protocol for motor vehicle accidents. If you have used your CERT training and done triage, let the first medic or fire officer (in the right seat of the apparatus) know. The first fire department officer on scene will be the initial incident commander. Remember, at the Department of Public Safety Communications, we have two customers, the public in need of a first responder and the first responders. Help us provide the best service to both by listening to our questions if you need to call us.