Instruction manual

Page 2040 of 3156 Meridian 911

553-3001-306 Standard 10.00 January 2002

Feature description

The number 911 has been adopted for the purpose of reporting emergencies

and requesting emergency services. For localities with 911 systems, the

number:

• is the same in all communities

• is easily remembered, even under adverse conditions

• provides direct telephone access to emergency services regardless of the

time of day, or the caller’s familiarity with an area, or the caller’s ability

to identify the type of emergency

A 911 system is planned, implemented, and operated under the auspices of

local governments. In most communities, 911 provides access to police, fire,

and emergency medical services. In some locations additional services are

accessible (for example, dialing 911 in certain locations provides access to

Coast Guard search and rescue services). Approximately 80 percent of all 911

calls are intended for the police, with the balance split between fire and

ambulance.

Because the overwhelming majority of 911 calls require police attention,

local police departments generally maintain, manage, and staff the center to

which emergency calls are first directed. These centers are referred to as

primary answering centers. A secondary answering center could be a police,

fire, or ambulance station (for example, fire-related 911 calls may be

transferred to a secondary answering center that handles incoming calls

regarding fires). In many instances, the fire department also determines the

degree of urgency for emergency medical services.

If the primary or secondary answering center is busy or out of service, the 911

call is directed to a backup answering center, referred to as an alternate

answering center.

The public network routes a 911 call to the appropriate primary answering

center based on the caller’s telephone number. For this reason, callers dialing

911 give up their right to privacy regarding:

• the telephone number of the station from which they are calling, and

• the billing address associated with that telephone number.