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When to Call 911

911

Call 9-1-1 To Report

  • Accidents
  • Theft
  • Burglary
  • Suspicious Persons or Situations
  • Domestic Violence
  • Shootings
  • Fights
  • Missing Persons
  • Lost or Found Property
  • Or ANY situation requiring a response from Law Enforcement
  • Fire
  • Suspicious Smoke
  • Gas or Chemical Leaks
  • False Alarm Activation
  • Or ANY situation requiring a response from the Fire Department
  • ANY medical condition requiring the immediate dispatch of an Ambulance or Emergency Medical Response Personnel

Call Your Local Agencies Directly To

  • Prearrange Ambulance Transport
  • Obtain Burning Permits
  • Obtain Copies of Police Reports
  • Obtain general information regarding City / Township / County operations

911 Do’s & Don’ts

  • DO use 911 to reach police, fire, or ambulance service.
  • DO teach your children or grandchildren how to use 911 wisely in case of an emergency… If a parent or relative is sick or unconscious, if a child is lost and can find a phone or pay phone, if a suspicious person is bothering the child or friends, or if your child or another child is injured.
  • DON’T call 911 to ask when power will be restored during an outage, how road conditions are, or whether schools are open. Contact your utility company or monitor local radio and television for road, weather, or school information.
  • DON’T hang up when you dial 911 in an emergency; our dispatchers will need information from you in order to send the appropriate help.
  • DON’T hang up when you dial 911 accidentally or our dispatcher will have to take time to call you back and verify if you have an emergency, taking them away from actual emergency calls.
  • DON’T let your cordless phone battery run down away from the charger. Some cordless phones send out a false 911 signal when they are discharged.
  • DON’T play with 911 or make false calls. It is a violation of the law that is punishable by fine or imprisonment.

Text to 911

“Call if you can, Text if you Can’t”

Guidelines

  • Text to 9-1-1 only in an emergency and when a voice call is not an option
    • In a situation where making a call could be dangerous such as a home invasion or an abusive partner
    • For individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability
    • If you are in an area where cell service is poor and the signal is not strong enough for a voice call
  • Provide your exact location (the dispatcher may not be able to determine the cell phone location)
  • Provide information about the nature of the emergency (the dispatcher will need to convey this information to the Police, Fire Department, or Emergency Medical services)
  • Use full words and keep messages brief (avoid text abbreviations or lingo such as IDK, 2day or BTW)

How to Text to 9-1-1

  • Enter the numbers “911” in the “to” field, do not include any other numbers in the “to” field as the cell provider’s system does not support sending multiple messages when texting 9-1-1
  • Type brief message and include location and type of help needed
  • Send message
  • Do not delete message or turn off your phone.
  • Be prepared to answer questions and follow instruction from the 9-1-1 call taker

Important Tips

  • Text to 9-1-1 is not available if you are roaming
  • Photos and videos cannot be sent to 9-1-1 at this time If you accidentally send a text to 911, be sure to follow it up with another text or voice call to let the dispatcher know it was an accident and that there is no emergency.
  • Wireless customers must have mobile phones that are capable of sending text messages.
  • If texting to 9-1-1 doesn’t work in the area you are in you should receive a bounce-back message that states: Please make a voice call to 911. There is no text service to 911 available at this time.
  • Sending a text to 911 may take longer than a voice call because someone must enter the text, send it through the system and then the 911 dispatcher has to enter a text response and send it back.