How does call made to 911 works and do they respond
In: Technology
Your cell phone goes to the nearest tower. Your land line goes to the designated PSAP(Public Safety Access Point). The ALI(Automatic Location Information) database is queried for a location. E911 on certain cell phones is sometimes coming withing meters of the phone and sometimes a quarter mile away. The operator always confirms location first and then your emergency so services can be dispatched. Location comes first in case there is a disconnect. There are times when NO services are appropriate.
All phone providers are required to route a call to 911 to the appropriate call center. From there, a 911 operator takes the call and mobilizes the appropriate resource to respond. Much falls on the professional judgment of these skilled operators.
In urban environments, they often “rolling” resources (e.g. in a city like san francisco the ambulances are on the road dispersed throughout the city and are dispatched based on proximity to where the call comes from. In less populated areas the response is dispatched from a centralized location (e.g. firestation or police station, etc.)
All US Police stations/dispatch centers use 911. Your phone chooses the right station to call based on the closest station.
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