RBC I A family member is having a medical crisis at your home. You pick up your cell phone and call 911. The dispatcher asks “Where is your emergency?” You may ask yourself, “Why are they asking me that question? Don’t they know where I am?”
The answer is no.
911 dispatchers don’t always know where you are calling from, especially when answering a call made from a cell phone. This is because Automatic Location Identification (ALI) for cell phones can be either Phase I or Phase II compliant.
Phase I only reports the cell phone number. Phase II reports the cell phone number and can also report your location, but it usually only reports the cell tower location that the call is bouncing off of, which could be miles from any direction where you actually are.
The Rio Blanco County Communications Center reports that in May and June 2014, 139 Phase I and 15 Phase II 911 cell phone calls were received. Out of those 15 Phase II calls, none reported the location of the caller.
Four out of every 10 homes in Colorado have switched from having traditional landline phones to exclusively using cell phones. When calling the 911 dispatch centers in Meeker or Rangely from a cell phone, they will only get the number you are calling from. There will be no name or address displayed, unlike when you call from a traditional landline.
Unlike on TV, when the police trace a cell phone call immediately, the dispatch center has to call the cell phone provider and fax an Exigent Circumstances form requesting a trace to your cell phone. This process can take up to an hour.
Do you have an hour to wait? Triangulating your cell phone call is possible, but in the rural areas of the country there are not enough cell towers to actually do that.
If you have children or elderly in your home, it is important to ensure that they know how to use a cell phone if there is no landline. More importantly, they need to know the address of your home.
Explain to them how 911 works and how important it is to know where they are at all times, whether that be at home or a neighbor’s house. Post your address on the refrigerator or perhaps put an address label on your cell phone.
Regardless of who is calling, it is standard protocol for 911 dispatchers to ask where your emergency is. They will always ask for an address or mile marker. Dispatchers will also confirm the phone number you’re calling from and the nature of your emergency. With this information, dispatchers can send appropriate resources to your location.
These questions are asked regardless of what information is displayed on the 911 screen. Dispatchers have to confirm the information they receive about your 911 call to ensure accuracy and appropriate response.
Residents can sign up for the program by calling the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office in Meeker at 970-878-9600 or the Rangely Police Department at 970-675-8466.
Rio Blanco County Sheriff Si Woodruff is asking for your help with creating a solution to this problem by notifying the RBCSO of your home address and cell phone number.
“At the very least, when you call 911 and the call drops without the dispatcher getting your name and address, we will be able to quickly retrieve your information and respond appropriately to your residence,” Woodrufff said. “If you choose to be one of the growing number of residents who are abandoning their old phone line for a cell phone, you need to know that you are limiting the dispatch center in providing a fast response to your emergency.”
