My Public Service Message

If you or your family ever need help, the first thing you would do would be to call 911, right? Fire, heart attack, break-in, you will pick up the phone and call for help. And that's the right thing to do. We teach our kids at a young age how to call 911.

But do you know what to tell 911 when you call?

What is the single most important piece of information to give that voice on the other end of the line?

Really think about it. But be honest. Because in a true emergency you wouldn't have minutes to sit and think. You're going to be going on instinct and adrenaline.

So what is it? You hear the dispatcher answer the phone. What do you say?

For many, the first thing you will tell the dispatcher is what is going on.

"I've been shot."

"My baby's not breathing."

"My dad is having a heart attack."

"Someone is breaking in."

"The chimney is on fire."

You're panicked and you need help. So you tell them what you need first. But if the phone dies. If your cell phone drops the call. If someone rams a telephone pole down the road and knocks out service for miles. What kind of help would you get?

If you were calling from a cell phone, maybe none. If you were calling from a land line and something was entered incorrectly, you might still not get help. Because with that brief sentence you told the dispatcher what was going on. But you failed to give them the most important piece of information.

Scary to think about. Especially in the examples I gave. In each of those, minutes really count. REALLY count.

So, what should be the first thing you tell 911?

Your location.

Few people know it. A lot of the times when people call, they give a five minute spill on what's going on. Who is fighting with who. Their dad's medical history. How bad it hurts when they breathe. If they're calling from a land line, the phone does pull up the address for us. But so many people have cell phones nowadays, and no matter how hard we try, the system cannot do more than the cell phone will let it. Between bad cell phones and in and out cell service, cell phones don't always map right on top of where you are. Though usually it gets us close enough that we could find you. And disposable cell phones don't even let us call them back.

Don't lose faith in us, your cell phone, or the system. There are dozens of people who have been charged for making false 911 calls who will attest to the fact that GPS on cells work. However, don't leave your life and the lives of your family in the hands of some hunk of plastic.

Know your address. Teach your children their address. When you travel, keep up with where you are.

And remember, when you need help, the most important thing to tell 911 is where you are. If we have that, we can send EMS, Fire and Law Enforcement so you'll be covered no matter what you need.

And if you need a phone number, please don't call 911. That would be 411. You don't know how many people can't keep that one straight.