calling 911 from a cell phone ?

I don't want to prolong the debate regarding who should pay for what. My point of this post is 2 fold;

1) There appears to be a growing trend of young people calling or texting their friends when they are in trouble as opposed to calling 911. I've even heard of Facebook posts being made vs calling 911 in legitimate emergencies. I'm not sure why this is, but I do believe dialing 911 in an emergency is still the preferred route.

2) I've asked this before, but still am unsure of what actually occurs (and it probably depends): If I am traveling with my cell and I make a 911 call, who picks up ? One can not assume it is the closest Police Dept, and I'm sure it's not "my" local police dept. Does anyone know how these calls are routed ?

Perhaps it's enough to know that the caller may need to explain where they are and/or hope that the cell signal can be traced, regardless.

Chip - thanks for the reminder that I should add some emergency numbers to my phone, such as the WMNF: 603-536-6100?

911 calls are commonly routed to the closest emergency contact from the receiving cell tower. In the mountains, this can be nearby or quite a distance away. I've heard of several 911 calls that went to the wrong state as the mountains blocked the local towers.

If you are calling for rescue, and you know where you are in the Whites, a call to the rangers or to Fish and Game might be quicker. But I don't think those numbers are guaranteed to be manned 24/7.

When I called 911 to report an injured hiker several weeks ago, I told the operator what town I was closest to and they immediately got in touch with the local authorities. I've no idea where my call was originally routed to, but it didn't matter. After I gave them my whereabouts, they connected me with the local folks pronto.

When I had to call 9-1-1 for an emergency, I was in the town of Bethlehem, NH, near Twin Mountain. The call was picked up by Bethlehem 9-1-1 dispatch, who quickly brought NH Fish and Game on the line.

Marty

Sometimes text messages will go through where voice calls will not. A text message is a *lot* less data to push across a potentially-marginal connection. Of course you should try calling 911 first, but if you can't get a call to go through, a text message may still be a viable option.

One of the reasons I ask is that when I called from Cannon/Franconia it quickly became apparent that the operator had NO IDEA where I was or even where Cannon Mtn was. I'm glad I knew the town was Franconia. I'm sure there are many hikers who don't know what town they're in at any particular moment.

Chip said:

One of the reasons I ask is that when I called from Cannon/Franconia it quickly became apparent that the operator had NO IDEA where I was or even where Cannon Mtn was. I'm glad I knew the town was Franconia. I'm sure there are many hikers who don't know what town they're in at any particular moment.

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Chip, I indeed had that problem. We were off trail on an unnamed peak, so there was no trail to specify. The problem was that the operator used my cell phone latitude and longitude, which was a couple of miles off. When she brought F&G on board, the lieutenant read out the latitude and longitude. I stated that it was much different than that on my GPS. I then read the GPS latitude and longitude and he quickly found our location and set up the SAR.

Marty

marty said:

Chip, I indeed had that problem. We were off trail on an unnamed peak, so there was no trail to specify. The problem was that the operator used my cell phone latitude and longitude, which was a couple of miles off. When she brought F&G on board, the lieutenant read out the latitude and longitude. I stated that it was much different than that on my GPS. I then read the GPS latitude and longitude and he quickly found our location and set up the SAR.

Marty

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Interesting story. So I should carry that Garmin Etrex even though I rarely use it, if I'm looking for full electronic support.

When I had my accident, I called 911 (after on-site stabilization). I told her (the 911 operator) the nature of my injuries and my approximate location (in the backwoods above Waterville Valley XC area). She contacted F&G and then relayed my exact location to them. After a while, they asked for a clarification (I was on a trail whose name had been changed from xx road to xx trail). After a while, I sent my GPS coords as backup (BTW, she had no idea what a datum was), but the info was not used. (I don't even know if the evac personnel had a GPS...)

She did want me to stay on the line until the evac crew arrived--an hour and a half to two hours this case (in ~20F temps), so make sure you charge your batteries before you go.


So call 911, but be prepared to explain details of your location and access to your location (for backcountry locations). And not all 911 operators, know about GPS coordinates and datums. I have also read reports that a number of rescue personnel/organizations cannot do datum and/or coordinate format conversions, so be prepared to reset the GPS options (in the menus) to provide the data in their preferred format.

Doug

Chip said:

Interesting story. So I should carry that Garmin Etrex even though I rarely use it, if I'm looking for full electronic support.

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A GPS can certainly remove the search from search and rescue.

Doug

Years ago, I used to field cell 911 calls (as well as regular 911 calls) when assigned to "desk duty." As has been mentioned, it all depends on the tower off of which the call bounces. In Plattsburgh, NY, I rountinely fielded calls from Vermont and kind of familiarized myself with the roadways in the northwestern part of that state just so I had some clue what they were talking about when the call came in. The one time I was really thrown was when I got a call from a couple hours northwest of Montreal, so my regular "what state are you calling from" turned into "what country are you calling from."

The system has gotten better (that was over a decade ago) with the increase in the number of cell towers but I'm really not "in the know" on that subject these days. Not nearly so exact as hardline 911 calls, where E-911 systems show the address as soon as the connection is made.

Puma concolor said:

Years ago, I used to field cell 911 calls (as well as regular 911 calls) when assigned to "desk duty." As has been mentioned, it all depends on the tower off of which the call bounces. In Plattsburgh, NY, I rountinely fielded calls from Vermont and kind of familiarized myself with the roadways in the northwestern part of that state just so I had some clue what they were talking about when the call came in. The one time I was really thrown was when I got a call from a couple hours northwest of Montreal, so my regular "what state are you calling from" turned into "what country are you calling from."

The system has gotten better (that was over a decade ago) with the increase in the number of cell towers but I'm really not "in the know" on that subject these days. Not nearly so exact as hardline 911 calls, where E-911 systems show the address as soon as the connection is made.

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I was in VT at Journeys End near the Canadian border in late August and made several cell phone calls. When I got my cell phone bill two months later, I noticed some extra roaming charges and looked through it all until I found calls I had supposedly made in late August from Montreal, Que., which I have not been in for several years. Then I remembered the Journeys End calls, which must have bounced off a Montreal tower.

Just as my family and I approached the MA/NY border tolls on the Pike, we saw an oncoming car blow out a front tire and then cartwheel, sending debris up the median right at us (it was kinda disturbing). Our 911 call was answered by NY staff, who (here's the weird point) asked us to try again, hoping for a MA responder. Couldn't believe it.

As it was, we were approaching the toll-booth and got a much quicker response from them, and they sent a trooper right out. I wish I knew that the occupant made it, but it was pretty violent; one can only hope for the best.

I also called 911 on Route 495 in the Milford area; a local cop responded and took the info, passing it along to the Stateys.

My iPhone has a mapping feature that I can use to send a Google map with my location marked to any email address, e.g., one that I might get from a 911 dispatcher. When I go on solo trips these days into remote areas, I keep my wife updated with twice-daily maps pinpointing my location.

I also have a GPS app on the iPhone that displays UTM coordinates (which is what the ground-based SAR teams use) that I could relay orally over the phone. I'm too cheap to buy any of the truly fancy commercial GPS apps that are coming out these days, but I think Garmin is hearing some very loud footsteps . . .

All 911 calls are answered by PSAP's (public safety answering points) in almost all, if not all areas in the US. They have a tremendous amount of resources available. Most have the ability and expertise to transfer pretty rapidly to other PSAP's inside and out of the states.

You would be hard pressed to find a solution to a problem that wouldn't be handled best by the 911 centers. Its what they do and the dispatchers are, as a group, very well trained and as well as most having training as EMD's their resources include everything from hazmat resources to military to state and federal to poison control and Chemtec as well as lots of others and the standard resources one usually equates with 911.

One thing that is worth remembering is, especially for highway accidents. And I have seen this happen, on more than on occasion. They will literally get hundreds of calls in minutes for bad car crashes on the interstates. Now imagine a PSAP center with maybe two or three people working which is not unusual. Now imagine that there is the possibility of another non-accident emergency caller trying to get through. Grandma is having a heart attack in the next town over. You will get a response from the dispatcher similar to "is this about the accident on the highway" Yes "we have it" click. They know about the car accident, now they are trying to clear the switchboard for any other emergency calls that might not be related to the highway emergency.

That is not to imply that you shouldn't call. Just that you shouldn't take it personally if they seem to be a little, well, brusque.

From what I saw in NH but this is several years old. Any call from a cell phone was routed to a PSAP in southern NH to a state police barracks IIRC. They routed it to whatever local resource is needed based upon what you told the dispatcher. This is of course assuming that it hit a tower in NH.

Keith

Chip said:

1) There appears to be a growing trend of young people calling or texting their friends when they are in trouble as opposed to calling 911.

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Sad news:

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=2182712

Tom Rankin said:

Sad news:
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=2182712

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Unfortunately, from the information in that article, it's hard to say if the the calls were really an emergency, or if they just got lost and were looking to reach a friend for directions prior to the accident.

I truly hope they didn't try to call friends, and not 911, from inside the sinking jeep.

911 in NH

If you are calling 9-1-1 in New Hampshire, your call will be routed to one of the two PSAPs (call centers) in the state, either Concord or Laconia. These PSAPs are wired together as if it was just one location, but exist for redundancy purposes. Keep in mind, if you are near a border, its possible you pick up a non-New Hampshire tower and you could end up with VT 911 for example.

New Hampshire is one of two states in the country that handles all 911 calls at the state level. (Trivia answer - Rhode Island is the other) This means that if you call 911 from anywhere in New Hampshire, you get the same PSAP and Emergency Medical Dispatchers trained in the exactly the same way. One of the training classes that NH EMD's must take is a week-long class on New Hampshire. Things like localities (where the heck is Woodsville?) or geographic features (Dixville Notch), etc... are covered, so if you say your are on top of Canon Mountain, the EMD should know what you are talking about.

Also, every call station in the PSAP has a software program displaying a map of the state with roads, houses, snowmobile trails and yes, even the AMC hiking trails. If you call 911 AND your phone is able to determine an accurate GPS location (this can be a little iffy getting this in the mountains) then a point will automatically show up on the map. The EMD would then be able to determine where you are, as well as see nearby trails and roads.

While most states handle 911 calls at their local dispatch centers (Massachusetts has over 100 911 locations, Maine has 15 for example), NH has 1 central location. Your call is then routed to a local dispatch center for the handling of the specific emergency. There are pro's and con's to this design but it works extremely well for a state of this size. It would probably not work for Mass.

So anyway, the point here is that if you call 911 in NH, in most cases, you will get the same set of dispatchers with the same set of tools to help you. Of course, I'm just guessing about all this.

DougPaul said:

So call 911, but be prepared to explain details of your location and access to your location (for backcountry locations). And not all 911 operators, know about GPS coordinates and datums. I have also read reports that a number of rescue personnel/organizations cannot do datum and/or coordinate format conversions, so be prepared to reset the GPS options (in the menus) to provide the data in their preferred format.

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Since I know you love details, Doug... The datum for our data is stored in WGS 84, however it is reprojected into State Plane NAD 83. This is because the way that NH looks in WGS84 is a really unsatisfying short, stout shape. The NAD83 projection is what most of us are used to expecting. If you provide coordinates to a 911 dispatcher, it should be in lat/long decimal WGS format since that is what the software will accept.