Non-Local 911

[WA2WMR]

Several months after Frank (AA4ZS) had passed, I was in a CW QSO with a station in Colorado. In the middle of his transmission, he went key down. At first I figured he had to retune or something, but after a minute or so and remembering how Frank had passed shortly after our SS CW Roundtable QSO, I became concerned. After another minute I looked him up on QRZ and then the Whitepages.com and called him. He had fallen asleep at the key. No problem. We continued our QSO.

However, afterward, I wondered, if he had not answered the phone, how would I call 911 for a town in Colorado. Does anyone have any idea of how to make a 911 call to some non-local area?

[K3MRI]

Unfortunately Lind, to the best of my knowledge, the 911 system is NOT interconnected. The only way is to look up the local law enforcement agency - there - and call them, and hope they will answer. Of course in today's non-411 world (yes, knowing what 411 is dates us) you're left with the Internet. Just for fun, I just tried to look up the police department number in four small towns across the country, and all four departments, with addresses and telephone numbers immediately came up on Google. Interestingly, in one case, there was no local PD, but Google managed to find the closest station, 20 miles away, with no problem.

[KD3Y]

"Agency Interconnectivity"

You dial 9-1-1 just like you normally would.  The call is routed to your local PSAP.  Tell the dispatcher your suspect your friend in Coloroado is having a medical emergency.  Your local PSAP has the contact for every other PSAP in the country (usually the 911 terminal will pull it right up instantly by the address you give).  So of course, you'll have to know the address of your friend in Colorado so your 911 operator at your local PSAP will know what PSAP to contact in Colorado.
I'd go that route VS trying to google the number of some local police department.   Your PSAP has priority with the phone companies and can get their call thru immediately to whatever PSAP services the jurisdiction where your friend is (the FCC requires the phone companies to give PSAPs that call routing priority).

Some police departments don't even answer the "civilian" phone.  My town, Newport for example, the Chief won't let the officer hang out in the office after 6pm.  He requires him to be out patrolling (we only have one cop per shift).   So if I dial the Newport PD after hours, it goes to an answering machine.  I have to dial 911 after hours, and the dispatcher at the PSAP can contact the officer directly.  Same way with the NC Marine Patrol and the Federal Park Police for the Outer Banks.  The local PSAP dispatches them directly.

If you know your friends cell phone # or landline #, the other PSAP can do things like break into a cell/landline phone conversation if your friend is on the line with another person, or can open the cell line to listen if it's an emergency if the phone isn't in use.  The other PSAP can also locate your friends cell phone to within 50 to 300 feet if it's active, things us civilians can't do.

Going thru 911 will always be faster than looking up the non-emergency number for an agency and doing it yourself.




 

Edited December 6, 2022 by KD3Y

[K3MRI]

7 hours ago, KD3Y said:

"Agency Interconnectivity"

You dial 9-1-1 just like you normally would.  The call is routed to your local PSAP.  Tell the dispatcher your suspect your friend in Coloroado is having a medical emergency.  Your local PSAP has the contact for every other PSAP in the country (usually the 911 terminal will pull it right up instantly by the address you give).  So of course, you'll have to know the address of your friend in Colorado so your 911 operator at your local PSAP will know what PSAP to contact in Colorado.

Interesting and very very good to know. I was truly under the impression that there was no interconnectivity but if I read your post correctly, there is not but they have the express route to getting that PSAP on the line, is that correct?

[KD3Y]

Yes.  It's not automated like you'd think it should be, but yes the PSAP operator has the # to all other PSAPs and can make a priority call to another PSAP in an emergency.  Sort of like in the military where a "flash" call preceeds all other tactical traffic in priority on the AUTOVON system.  When the 911 operator puts an address in their 911 terminal, it shows them what PSAP serves that address, and if it's a commercial or residential address, and other information like who owns the property.  But the operator has to manually call that other PSAP.  

Here in our e911 center, the county dispatcher is the PSAP for NC Marine Patrol, NC Highway Patrol, the Park Police (Outer Banks National Seashore), ICE (Port of Entry at Beaufort, NC), and DHS (the State Port in Morehead City), CSX Railroad Police, and the Marine Corps Police (Cherry Point MCAS).  If there's a crime there you dial 9-1-1, not those agencies themselves, and the dispatcher contacts those agencies directly.  There are boxes on the 911 terminal touch screen so when the dispatcher needs to dispatch those agencies, they just tap the box and they are connected instantly to those other "most often used" PSAPSs.

That happened after 9-11 when no agencies could talk to any other agencies when NY was attacked.  I believe it was the Patriot Act signed by George Bush that mandated that be federally funded.  It also requires all cell phone carriers to participate in the e911 system by FCC regulation.  Your cell carrier will put you thru to the PSAP nearest the tower you are connected to when you dial 9-1-1 on your cell phone, as well as sending GPS cords of your location and other info like your phone number and IMEI number to the dispatcher.

[K3MRI]

You know… a talk on PSAPs and the 911 system would be an excellent talk for hams 😇

[KG6TGU]

no quite so KD3Y, the 911 call does not go to the local police department or even the state police. at least here in ca.

as my cell phone on calling 911 goes to the county sheriff were i live.

and at times i can be 500+ miles away from that county. making the 911 service worthless.

[K3MRI]

Would I be wrong in assuming that there is no standardized, national 911 policy? I really don’t know. I guess I should have looked it up before typing this. I’ll look. Meanwhile, if anyone finds a national policy or recommendation, that would be interesting too.

[KG6TGU]

i was surprised myself. as I had known it, the 911 calls went to the chp. or maybe a thing about my iphone?

(i was in fresno, ca. hit the emg call button, and it called the calaveras county sheriff.  i had a couple bums refusing to get away from my truck while i was unloading, and yes i did ask politely first, then told them to to leave, they refused. till i said i am calling the police and pulled out my phone.) yes bums like to attack truck drivers as we unload alone most of the time. this job is 24-7-363 days a year.

but now i am retired 🙃 so that is not a problem for me any longer.

[K3MRI]

9 hours ago, KG6TGU said:

but now i am retired 🙃 so that is not a problem for me any longer.

I've been trying to decide on which emoji to use for 'retired'... good choice 🙃 Others include: 🥳  😎  🤠

[KG6TGU]

i am just retired. so my life is upside down right now. trying to be a day walker, i have been working the night (4:pm to 4:30 am) for the past 10 years.

but after the rain stops i plan to get a antenna up in my back yard. just a tec right now, but trying to learn so i can up grade to a general. as my job has for the most part put my life on hold. only 50-55 hrs week for a time before that 80+ hrs was normal. --truck driver.