Hat tip Contra Costa County Firefighters who put out the following information that I wanted to pass along regarding the terrible advice being passed along from people on social media suggesting US dial 1-1-2 instead of 9-1-1. Simply put, just ignore the advice and continue using 9-1-1.
For those with cell phones, one should actually enter in your local dispatch number under 9-1-1 that way you ensure the fastest service possible. Cell phone are on a completely different network that is not local–this trick will save you a few minutes jumping through loops as they try and locate your local dispatch and patch you through to them. This will save you a couple of minutes.
1-1-2 Emergency Telephone Number Facts
You may have seen recent posts on social media sites urging people in the U.S. to dial 1-1-2 rather than 9-1-1 in certain emergencies. This is bad advice. The posts claim that 1-1-2 is especially effective if you are being pulled over in your car and want to ensure that you are dealing with the police. It also claims that by dialing 1-1-2, your call will be answered faster and may go directly to the police.
Here are the facts:
FACT: 1-1-2 is the European emergency number. Several wireless providers offer mobile phones that can use either system for emergency calls, depending on the user’s location.
FACT: While dialing 1-1-2 in the United States may work on certain devices and on certain wireless networks, the only way to ensure that your call for emergency assistance gets through is to dial 9-1-1. When a caller tries to use 1-1-2 in the United States, the call may not go through. Even if it does, 1-1-2 provides no special emergency call handling – in fact, it adds a delay due to it having to be converted to “9-1-1” and then routed to the appropriate 9-1-1 call center.
FACT: No one should ever call 1-1-2 just to “test” if it works; you’ll tie up public safety resources and waste valuable time for people facing real emergencies. The bottom line is that anyone calling for emergency assistance in the United States or Canada should always dial 9-1-1 for the fastest and most effective response.
5 comments
Haven’t heard about this, but who the heck would call 1-1-2???? Good info
thanks for the info
I recently heard during a local presentation that one should not call 9-1-1 from a cell phone, but should call the actual local police or fire dispatch phone number. Is this true?? I thought that calling 9-1-1 from the cell was just as fast as callling from a land liine or home phone. Any info would be greatly appreciated! thx for bringing accurate info to the local area.
From what I’ve been told, 9-1-1 from a cell phone go to highway patrol center. They then have to track down where you are from then transfer you to local dispatch. It’s an extra layer before you can get help. Land lines go to local dispatch
@Joan, 911 from a cell goes to California Highway Patrol. Store your local police and fire emergency numbers into your cell phone. In an emergency you can click on that number and it will go straight to the resource you need or dialed. Landline 911 goes straight to the911 emergency dispatch system, not Chp. Hope this helps. I am a 20 yr Firefighter/Paramedic, so this is accurate and reliable.
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