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OK, so obviously you already know how to call 911, at least I hope you do! However, from my experience as a 911 dispatcher not everyone understands how it works and what the normal procedures are and because of this people end up inadvertently delaying their own help. The strict protocols that 911 operators must follow are not widely known to the average caller and without any public education from local public safety departments, most callers are surprised and frustrated by the process they must go through when calling for help. Below I will give you a few tips to make calling for help slightly less frustrating. Remember, these are just a few simple tips. Going into detail about the specific protocols is too much for this one article and may be a legal issue as well; I will have to check on that!

1. First and foremost please don't let your children play on the phone and if you do, take the battery out. If you do not, it will result in a visit from a police officer. Remember, even if you have no home telephone service, if you plug a phone into the wall jack you can still call 911.
2. The first thing you should tell 911 when the operator answers, is the address of the emergency, this is the most crucial information and without it help will never come.
3. Remember that just because you called in, it does not mean we know where you are. If you call from a land line yes the address will come up, will it be the right address? Not always. Also if you call from a cell phone the address will not show up and if you do not provide the location, once again help will not always arrive and if it does it may not be in time.
4. When you call for help, always, always stay on the line until the operator tells you to disconnect. Even if you are in a situation where you can't, say perhaps there is someone in the room who can't know you are talking to 911, find a way to let us know this, we are trained to handle callers in this particular situation.
5. Answer every question you are asked, every time. If you do not know the answer, "I don't know" is an acceptable answer. Whether you are calling for a medical, fire or law enforcement emergency the operator will have important questions that must be answered to the best of your ability. It's not like the movies where people call 911 and shout "send an ambulance right away" and then hang up and the ambulance is sent. Don't get me wrong this does happen in real life provided we have a location, but it is not the preferred or

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