How to Make a 911 Call

You may think you know how to make a 911

call. You just dial 9-1-1 on your phone and tell an

operator what is wrong, right? Not so fast.

It might be hard to provide all the information

in a way that can save valuable time in getting

critical help to people who need it. Knowing what will happen and what to say when you call 911 will help you to act fast in an emergency situation and to calmly relay the correct information to emergency responders.

Make sure you have an actual emergency First, make sure you have an actual emergency. 911 is meant to deal with emergency situations such as medical emergencies, fires, car crashes, severe injuries or crimes. Is what you are calling about a real emergency?

For example, if your power is out, your parents/guardians will call the power company to report the outage, not 911. If a fire hydrant is broken, you can call a fire station’s non-emergency number or your town’s police department to get the correct number to call. If a pipe has burst, your parents/guardians will call a plumber. If your pet has a medical problem, they call a vet.

Help with homework or questions about whether your school is closed are not reasons to call 911.

But, if you’re not sure whether it is an emergency, always call 911. Dispatchers at the 911 Call Center will determine if the situation is an emergency.

What will happen when you call 911?

When you call 911, a trained responder

will answer your call and identify him/

herself by saying something similar to

“911, what’s your emergency?” They may

ask for your location. Many people assume

that your phone number automatically

shows your location to the call center, but depending on where you live, cell phone signals bounce around different towers.

Remain calm and answer all their questions clearly.

This may not be easy when you are dealing with an emergency situation that has you scared and upset, but knowing ahead of time what will happen on a 911 call should help you react more calmly to provide details to the emergency responders without panicking.

You may think the call is taking too long and the 911 operator is asking too many questions, but emergency units such as EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) in ambulances and responders in firetrucks are probably already on the way as you answer questions. The responders react immediately when the call comes in; 911 operators continue to get valuable information and then relay the information to the emergency responders as they travel to the scene.

General information they will ask for includes:

Where you are

Make sure you are able to give an exact location. “At Grandma’s house” or “At the babysitter’s house” does not tell the operator where to send help. If you don’t know the exact address, look for an address on the house or look for a piece of mail that will give the exact location.

Call back number
Type of emergency
Your name
Names of other people who are involved in the emergency
If you are alone or with someone

Depending on the situation, they may also ask:

For a medical emergency (In addition to the general questions listed above):

What the person was doing when he/she became ill (if known)
Approximate age of the ill person
If the person is conscious
If the person is breathing
If the person can provide any information on his/her condition

For a crime (In addition to the general questions listed above):

If you know who was responsible for the crime

A description of the person(s) responsible for the crime
A description of the clothing the person(s) was wearing
What direction they were heading if you saw them leave
A description of their vehicle
A description of yourself so emergency responders know you are not the person responsible for the crime.

For a fire (In addition to the general questions listed above):

What is on fire such as house, woods, car

For a car accident (In addition to the general questions listed above):

Are you in the car?
How many cars are involved
If people are trapped inside
If people are hurt

They may ask other information depending on the emergency and after your responses to their questions.

Stay on the phone call until the 911 operator tells you to hang up. They may give you instructions about what to do while you are waiting for the EMTs or firefighting personnel. Listen carefully, ask them to repeat or explain anything you do not understand, and follow the directions carefully.

They may tell you how to give first aid, how to perform CPR, or how you can move to a safer location.

If you don’t have a phone

If you see a dangerous situation, need to report an accident, or think someone needs medical help and you don’t have a phone, ask someone at the scene to call 911. It is more effective to ask a specific person. If you just shout out “Call 911!”, people may assume someone else has called and no one ends up calling. Emergency responders report that valuable time is lost when people have not called about an emergency because they thought other people called.

Important: If you call 911 by mistake, don’t just hang up. Tell the 911 operator that you dialed 911 by mistake. All 911 hang-ups are called back. If operators cannot get in touch with you, they will dispatch an officer to your location to check on the scene. In some hostage situations or in domestic violence cases, a person cannot complete the call. Officers check to make sure no one needs help. Sometimes, people need help, but cannot complete the call.

Activity

Knowing the right way to call the 911 Help Center is the first step to being able to get help in an emergency situation.

Procedure

Work in student pairs to practice placing a 911 emergency call. You may have to make up some of the information, such as what a victim was wearing or what they have told you. Just play out the scenario to practice the 911 calls.

Take turns being the 911 operator and the person placing the call in the following scenarios:

1) You are on your way home from school and witness a two-car accident. The drivers and passengers are not getting out of the cars.

2) You are on your way to the park to play basketball and see an unconscious person on the ground.

3) You witness a convenient store robbery as the robber runs out of the store. You hear the people inside still yelling that they have been robbed.

4) You stop at a food truck with friends after school for a snack. A woman nearby starts choking.

5) You are walking home from the bus stop when you notice smoke coming out of a house.

6) You and your friend are playing video games at his house when your friend starts getting sick. You don’t know what caused it or what to do, but your friend’s face and lips are swelling and he is dizzy and looks like he is going to faint.

7) Your friend is having trouble breathing. You know she has asthma but you’ve never seen her struggle to breathe like this. She has used her inhaler and it hasn’t helped. She can’t talk and her wheezing is getting worse.