Articles about 911 Emergency
What’s the significance of 911
911 is the number used in USA in emergency situations. The way that the number was chosen is not really known exactly. After UK and Canada has chosen the emergency service number which was 999, US decided to do the same. Before 911 the emergency service number was “0”.
There are different debates on how the number 911 was chosen. The idea is that the number is made out of three digits to be easy to remember. After the phone system became automated, departments like police, or firefighters had they own number. This was hard for a person to remember, first because there were more than one number to remember and secondly because the number was long.
In US there were service codes or area codes like 211 or 411. 911 was not used for any of the service area or code area. This might be the reason for which it was chosen.
Also it is easy to remember because the first and the last digit are opposite to each other and they were at opposite ends of the phone’s rotary dial. The middle digit was 1 because at that time the area code had to be 1 or 0 and also the first two digits could not be 1. 1 and 0 as a middle digit was used for long distance whereas the rest of the digits were used for local call.
When the number 911 was approved as the number for emergency services this could be routed appropriately.
The first call to ever be made in USA using 911 was made on February 16, 1968 in Alabama. The call was made as a test and it was done by Rankin Fite, the Alabama Speaker of the House and it was answered by Tom Bevill, the Congressman.
After this there was intense media to the public to start using the number in case of emergency. It took some time before people got used to it. The number was mostly spread in school and kinder gardens, because it was important that children knew how to use the number from small ages. Eve though it is a short time since the number started to be used, it did not pass a long time before people got used to it. Nowadays the number comes naturally with people and it is like it has always been this way. In USA today, the use of the number is used frequently by those that do not really need an emergency service. Also with the appearance of mobile phones it was much harder to identify the location of the caller.
The 911 emergency system has come a long way since it was put in place and there are many things that need to be considered. There are a lot of solutions that need to be thought of in order to stop those that are abusing the system. Even if there are fines and even jails service if the emergency service is used for false calls there are those medical calls made from people that are not considered emergency and that are occupying a lot from the time and resources of services like ambulances.
What qualifies as a emergency for 911 call
There are many cases when 911 are used for situation when there is no emergency. Such cases are very often, especially in USA. All of these calls can be very harmful for those that really need the emergency services, because they are blocking operators from attending real emergencies.
Also there are those who are not calling 911 because they fell that their situation is not that difficult when actually it is. In these situations, people prefer calling a relative or a physician, if the problem is a medical one. By doing this, they are delaying the time until they will get the proper help.
The right reasons that qualify for a 911 call are among others are: medical emergencies, police and fire emergencies.
One should immediately call 911 if they are feeling that they have difficulties in breathing. No one should wait in this situation in the hope that they might get better in the next minutes, especially if they have other type of illness that they are aware about. Difficulties in breathing and vomiting or nausea can be also a case of gases in the air, which the person is not aware of. Calling 911 might save their live.
If we are experiencing confusion, which is a sign that there might be something wrong with the brain or heart pains, we should make the call immediately.
Also if a person next to us is experiencing any of the above situations, before interfering in any way is better to call 911. The operator during the time he/she advices the appropriate emergency services can assist you in first aid or SPR. This way we are gaining time for the emergency services to interfere and we would be giving the appropriate first aid and maybe we would be the link that will save the person’s life until the emergency service appears.
Then there are the situations when we need the fire department. Though the stations in every city have their own number, it is much easier and handy to dial 911.
Probably 911 is most associated with the police and this is probably because most of the cases when 911 emergency services where required was when there was the need of police. In case of an accident whether we are involved or whether we see it, if you have the mean to do it, we need to call and report it.
The way we react in an emergency situation is critical for us and sometimes to the people next to us. To be sure that we understand what the critical situations are when we need to call 911, it is best and necessary that we are teach since childhood about the 911 emergency service. A child should know as much as an adult what’s the importance of 911 and when this should be dialed and when not.
Children should now very well that this is not a joke and that they shouldn’t make falls calls, because they can take the time of an operator dealing with a real case of emergency.
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