Emergency dispatch phone number - ADKs and Catskills

I was reading the report about the hiker rescue on Santanoni this past winter.
The only suggestion offered by the rangers was that a phone call to the emergency dispatch line vs a call to 911 would have resulted in a quicker response from rescuers and rangers. This was reinforced when I was speaking with one of the other day.

The 911 operators deal with all sorts of mayhem, the vast majority of which are not back country injuries or emergencies.
Calling 1(877)457-5680 connects to a dispatcher who knows what questions to ask and gets the call to the local ranger and authorities. Probably a good idea to store the number in your cell phone and have it available to friends and family at home.

Placed this in General Backcountry so that NE readers who travel to the NY mountains wouldn't miss it.

Peakbagr said:

I was reading the report about the hiker rescue on Santanoni this past winter.
The only suggestion offered by the rangers was that a phone call to the emergency dispatch line vs a call to 911 would have resulted in a quicker response from rescuers and rangers. This was reinforced when I was speaking with one of the other day.

The 911 operators deal with all sorts of mayhem, the vast majority of which are not back country injuries or emergencies.
Calling 1(877)457-5680 connects to a dispatcher who knows what questions to ask and gets the call to the local ranger and authorities. Probably a good idea to store the number in your cell phone and have it available to friends and family at home.

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I will second this good advice. I recently took the NYSDEC SAR Crew Boss training course where this was emphasized by the instructor rangers. This has been verified by personal conversation with incident commanders on many backcountry searches.

If you call 911 you are likely to get someone who thinks, for example, that the Santanoni Range is an Italian kitchen cookstove. Always make sure that the itinerary you leave with a knowledgeable person at home includes the DEC dispatch number 1(877)457-5680 as the first and most important emergency number to call.

edit: I should note that calling 911 is certainly not wrong, by all means call 911, but NYSDEC experience shows that in many cases where a remote SAR response is needed, quicker results may come from calling the DEC dispatch at the top of the list. A nearby ranger in the field may be able to be dispatched to the best known location in short order. This has happened many times.

Peakbagr said:

I was reading the report about the hiker rescue on Santanoni this past winter.
The only suggestion offered by the rangers was that a phone call to the emergency dispatch line vs a call to 911 would have resulted in a quicker response from rescuers and rangers. This was reinforced when I was speaking with one of the other day.

The 911 operators deal with all sorts of mayhem, the vast majority of which are not back country injuries or emergencies.
Calling 1(877)457-5680 connects to a dispatcher who knows what questions to ask and gets the call to the local ranger and authorities. Probably a good idea to store the number in your cell phone and have it available to friends and family at home.

Placed this in General Backcountry so that NE readers who travel to the NY mountains wouldn't miss it.

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911 dispatchers have a remarkable amount of information and resources at their fingertips and are use to coordinating those resources. I would call 911 and then if you feel the need, call the 877 number or even tell the 911 dispatcher about the number and then call it yourself. There is nothing that says you can't call both. I would make certain that the 911 center is in the loop.

Keith

The Santanoni incident report held that calling the ICE dispatcher is best. The conversation with the ranger and his captain the other day reinforced that.
I hold no SAR credentials, just passing on what I read and was told. For myself, I'll follow what the rangers who have to come get us advise and call the dispatch number and let them take care of it.

Since this is posted in the General Backcountry forum, not the NY one, I'll point out that similar advice in NH is a very bad idea. Although NH Fish and Game has statutory authority for inland SAR in the state, their dispatch number doesn't operate on evenings and may not record incoming calls.

In NH, your best choice is to call 911 and be explicit at the outset about the situation and your location. If the you-know-what hits the fan (dropped call, dying cellphone battery, the bear is coming back, etc.), at least what you said so far will be automatically recorded for playback, plus they might have a good chance these days of locating your cellphone's position from the data they get when you call.

In VT, a 911 call will probably get you routed to VT State Police, who have the SAR responsibility in that state. In Maine, a similar 911 call will probably get you to the Warden Service.

I know there will be people who disagree with these points, pointing instead to various NH State Police barracks, etc. But few with that preference will have actually been involved in SAR operations in the latter three states.

Posted in General Backcountry for NY hikers and New England hikers hiking in NYS. Rangers involved in Santanoni incident said that the call to 911 resulted in a delayed notification to rescuers would would have otherwise potentially allowed a helicopter rescue instead of the hours long foot evacuation.

sardog1 said:

In NH, your best choice is to call 911 and be explicit at the outset about the situation and your location. If the you-know-what hits the fan (dropped call, dying cellphone battery, the bear is coming back, etc.), at least what you said so far will be automatically recorded for playback, plus they might have a good chance these days of locating your cellphone's position from the data they get when you call.

In VT, a 911 call will probably get you routed to VT State Police, who have the SAR responsibility in that state. In Maine, a similar 911 call will probably get you to the Warden Service.

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What about the case where it is actually a remote family member that is making the call (e.g. overdue hiker)?

Obviously, calling 911 is not an option. For trips to The Whites, I've been leaving the phone numbers for both NH F&G and the AMC. Maybe the NH F&G number isn't so helpful?

Anybody have suggestions?

- Steve

For the Adirondacks, the other number to know is:

"If you have an emergency where a forest ranger is needed, call 911 and ask for DEC Forest Ranger assistance or call the Department's Public Protection Dispatch at 518-891-0235."

(From DEC web site)

The 891 number goes to Ranger Dispatch in Ray Brook.

Drumhaggart said:

What about the case where it is actually a remote family member that is making the call (e.g. overdue hiker)?

Obviously, calling 911 is not an option. For trips to The Whites, I've been leaving the phone numbers for both NH F&G and the AMC. Maybe the NH F&G number isn't so helpful?

Anybody have suggestions?

- Steve

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Why do you think that 911 is not an option? 911 services transfer calls to other 911 centers all the time or can tell you how to contact those centers if they can't do it as easily as you. If you are worried that it isn't an emergency, that usually doesn't matter if there is a concern. You can always request a welfare check which uses emergency resources all the time. I have never heard of a problem with anyone calling 911 to have someone whose welfare needs to be checked on at a distant location. We have those calls frequently enough and no part of the system from 911 dispatcher to the firefighter/EMT/police has any problem doing that.

Again, there is nothing wrong with calling DEC, NH F&G, or anyone else you might want to try to activate but first I would suggest calling 911 and letting them know what the situation is. They may have very useful suggestions and really, they know just about everyone, how to contact them, and the proper people to activate.

And to make certain my suggestions are not misinterpreted. These are just my suggestions based on my knowledge and experience. Anyone with an emergency needs to do what they think is correct given their circumstance. I rarely second guess people in such a situation.

Keith

SAR-EMT40 said:

Why do you think that 911 is not an option? 911 services transfer calls to other 911 centers all the time or can tell you how to contact those centers if they can't do it as easily as you. If you are worried that it isn't an emergency, that usually doesn't matter if there is a concern. You can always request a welfare check which uses emergency resources all the time. I have never heard of a problem with anyone calling 911 to have someone whose welfare needs to be checked on at a distant location. We have those calls frequently enough and no part of the system from 911 dispatcher to the firefighter/EMT/police has any problem doing that.

Again, there is nothing wrong with calling DEC, NH F&G, or anyone else you might want to try to activate but first I would suggest calling 911 and letting them know what the situation is. They may have very useful suggestions and really, they know just about everyone, how to contact them, and the proper people to activate.

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FWIW, when I called 911 after my backcountry skiing accident in the Whites, the situation was handled very well. After I explained the situation, my needs, and my location, there was no difficulty getting the info to the appropriate people.

One note: the 911 operator asked me to stay on the phone which would prevent one from calling anyone else. It could also cause one's batteries to run down before SAR gets there. And it ties up someone who may be needed to help the victim.

Doug

DougPaul said:

FWIW, when I called 911 after my backcountry skiing accident in the Whites, the situation was handled very well. After I explained the situation, my needs, and my location, there was no difficulty getting the info to the appropriate people.

One note: the 911 operator asked me to stay on the phone which would prevent one from calling anyone else. It could also cause one's batteries to run down before SAR gets there. And it ties up someone who may be needed to help the victim.

Doug

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Yeah Doug. That is the norm to keep you on the line for several reasons. In your situation I am sure they would have been willing to allow you to hang up provided that you called back soon or of course they would have tried calling you.

It is all up to the individual to make decisions about situations like that. The dispatchers will try to be forceful sometimes because they want to make sure that you aren't making decisions because of faulty reasoning. They understand it is a stressful situation that the person calling is going through that most haven't dealt with before, that is why they are calling the 911 center.

Their first goal is to calm the situation, get as much useful information to pass to the responders and also relay any changes in the status of the patient or changes at the scene that could make it more dangerous for us or for you. As the scene is ongoing they are use to coordinating other resources the commanders on scene might need and keep track of not only that scene but all the others that might be going on and where all the resources are located.

The system isn't perfect but it generally works well. The quality of the EMD's, and what is expected of them has steadily risen through the years as well. They use to be glorified telephone operators, not anymore. Most have been a first responder for at least several years before becoming a dispatcher and going to school for it. It isn't NASA but their environment can be very stressful and most use computer aided dispatching systems now and they must be excellent multi taskers and most are, or they don't last. A good dispatcher can and does make significant contributions, especially on long and/or complex scenes.

Its funny thinking about it right now. I know several dispatchers voices so well I could literally pick their voice and characteristics out of a room of a thousand people. Yet I have never met many of these people and wouldn't know them if I saw them on the street.

Sorry, this rambled a bit farther than I intended.

Keith

Drumhaggart said:

What about the case where it is actually a remote family member that is making the call (e.g. overdue hiker)?

Obviously, calling 911 is not an option. For trips to The Whites, I've been leaving the phone numbers for both NH F&G and the AMC. Maybe the NH F&G number isn't so helpful?

Anybody have suggestions?

- Steve

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I live on the NH/ME border. Many of my outgoing 911 calls regarding road accidents, debris, dangerous drivers, etc. are routed through a Maine dispatch center first. There's NEVER been an issue getting the call transferred to the proper location in NH, so long as I know where I am. And if I don't, these days Big Brother often knows exactly where you are. I called yesterday to report a crash, thinking that I was in one town, and the operator knew instantly that I had actually crossed into the next. I'm quite confident that a family member calling 911 in MA will get transferred to the appropriate dispatch center in NH or elsewhere in fairly good order. (If your family member, friend or employer doesn't know where to start looking for you when you're overdue, that's your fault for not leaving a good trip plan.)

The last thing I'd do for an incident in the mountains is call the AMC first. I know that they have an important role in assisting with many evacs, etc. But they're not in the emergency response business.

SAR-EMT40 said:

Why do you think that 911 is not an option? 911 services transfer calls to other 911 centers all the time or can tell you how to contact those centers if they can't do it as easily as you. If you are worried that it isn't an emergency, that usually doesn't matter if there is a concern. You can always request a welfare check which uses emergency resources all the time. I have never heard of a problem with anyone calling 911 to have someone whose welfare needs to be checked on at a distant location. We have those calls frequently enough and no part of the system from 911 dispatcher to the firefighter/EMT/police has any problem doing that.

Click to expand...

sardog1 said:

I live on the NH/ME border. Many of my outgoing 911 calls regarding road accidents, debris, dangerous drivers, etc. are routed through a Maine dispatch center first. There's NEVER been an issue getting the call transferred to the proper location in NH, so long as I know where I am. And if I don't, these days Big Brother often knows exactly where you are. I called yesterday to report a crash, thinking that I was in one town, and the operator knew instantly that I had actually crossed into the next. I'm quite confident that a family member calling 911 in MA will get transferred to the appropriate dispatch center in NH or elsewhere in fairly good order. (If your family member, friend or employer doesn't know where to start looking for you when you're overdue, that's your fault for not leaving a good trip plan.)

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I guess I shouldn't assume.

Can someone explain the routing mechanism for calls that involve an emergency (or welfare check) that are distant from the calling party?

I know that when I dial 911 from my home in SmallTown, MA, I get connected directly to the town dispatcher (who is sitting at a desk about 400 yards away from me). I know this person, and I doubt that they have any clue as to the location of Crawford Notch, NH. Do they have some sort of lookup that tells them who the next contact in the chain is?

sardog1 said:

The last thing I'd do for an incident in the mountains is call the AMC first. I know that they have an important role in assisting with many evacs, etc. But they're not in the emergency response business.

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I understand. The rationale is that they would be familiar with the location in my itinerary and would know exactly who to call.

- Steve

In NYS, I'm sticking with the what the ranger advised as primaryl and 911 as backup.