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 The Do's
and DO NOTs of Calling 9-1-1
You should always call 9-1-1 to report
an emergency, but only an emergency.
ABOUT THE 9-1-1 SYSTEM
The 9-1-1 system is designed to quickly and efficiently dispatch
everyone—police, fire, ambulance—needed to assist with an emergency.
Top priority is placed on answering 9-1-1 lines.
However, abuse of 9-1-1 is an increasing
problem for many cities in the nation. When the 9-1-1 operator gets
a call asking what the temperature is or whether or not there was
just an earthquake, the 9-1-1 operator is prevented from assisting
someone whose life may be at stake. It's clear by the type of calls
9-1-1 centers routinely receive that there is confusion as to what
constitutes an actual emergency.
WHAT IS AN EMERGENCY?
An “emergency” is an event that poses immediate, significant
threat to life and/or property:
-
A heart attack or stroke is an emergency; a
broken finger is not.
-
A teen threatening his parent is an
emergency; a teen refusing to obey his parent is not.
-
A noise from your neighbor that sounds like
a violent physical encounter is an emergency; a noisy party is
not.
WHEN SHOULD I CALL
9-1-1?
Below are some examples of when to call 9-1-1 and when not to:
| Do CALL 911 for the
following |
Do NOT call 911 for the
following |
- Traffic accident with known or suspected injuries
- Life-threatening medical situations
- A fire in your stove, dryer, chimney, or any other
part of your home
- Fire or smoke from an identified location (not just
“a lot of smoke in the air”)
- In-progress or just-occurred crimes
- Domestic violence
- Fights, using fists and/or weapons
- Earthquake-related injuries or property damage that
is life threatening
|
- Non-injury traffic accident
- Directions to hospital or clinic—call the hospital
or clinic
- Unruly children
- Noise disturbances, including parties or loud music
- To request the batteries in your smoke detector be
changed
- Was that just an earthquake?
- Injured and/or dead animals—call Animal Control
(707) 565-7100
- Illegal parking/abandoned vehicles
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WHAT IS THE NON-EMERGENCY NUMBER I
SHOULD CALL?
Police departments and fire departments have non-emergency numbers
listed in the phone book, in the government listings at the front of
the white pages. To report a non-emergency event requiring law
enforcement intervention, both the Windsor Police Department and the
Sonoma County Sherriff dispatch can be reached at (707) 565-2121.
To seek assistance with weed complaints, chirping smoke detector
batteries, or other non-emergency fire department related issues,
call the Windsor Fire Protection District at (707) 838-1170.
If you live in another agency’s jurisdiction, look in your phone
book’s government listing for your local agencies’ non-emergency
numbers.
A NOTE ABOUT CELL PHONES
Cell-phone calls to 9-1-1 are routed through the CHP dispatch center
in Solano County and have to be transferred back to Sonoma County
for dispatch, which creates a delay even if answered promptly. In
addition, cell phone calls to 9-1-1 often are placed on hold for
long periods or are not answered for several minutes. Therefore, it
is a good idea to store the Sonoma County Sherriff’s dispatch number
(707) 565-2121 in your cell phone and use that number when
using your cell phone to report emergencies in Sonoma County.
A FEW RULES TO FOLLOW WHEN TALKING WITH
THE 9-1-1 OPERATOR
When you have to dial 9-1-1 be prepared to stay on the line and
answer the questions asked of you by the dispatcher. Remember,
dispatchers are trained to gather the information needed to
determine the most appropriate response by police, fire and/or
medical personnel. The answers to questions that might seem
irrelevant to the situation you have called for may provided
information necessary to the safety of the firefighters and/or
police officers who are responding.
In most cases, even while you are still being asked questions,
the appropriate agencies have already have been dispatched and are
on the way.
Stay on the line until the dispatcher tells you it is OK to hang
up. If it is not safe for you to stay on the line, set the phone
receiver down without hanging up. This will allow the dispatcher to
possibly hear any background noises that might assist the responding
units.
WHAT IF I CALL 9-1-1 BY MISTAKE?
If you accidentally misdial 9-1-1, do not just hang up.
Stay on the line until a dispatcher answers, and then tell the
dispatcher it was an accident. This will prevent the 9-1-1 operator
from having to call you back and inquire as to whether there is an
emergency, saving her time to handle actual emergencies.
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