What is an Emergency?
A 9-1-1 emergency is an immediate threat to someone's health, safety or property. Call 9-1-1 when there is a:
- Life-threatening emergency or medical situation;
- Crime in progress;
- Fire;
- Serious accident;
- Exposure to, inhalation or swallowing of a poisonous substance.
Helpful Tips for using 9-1-1 service
- 9-1-1 is for emergencies only
- There are other non-urgent numbers to assist
- Know your location
- Be prepared to provide the 9-1-1 operator with your exact address if at all possible. This can save valuable time which is critical in times of emergencies
Accidental and non-urgent calls have a significant impact on the day-to-day operation of a 9-1-1 centre. The 9-1-1 operators are professionals trained to respond to emergencies. Non-emergency calls can often tie up valuable resources, including first responders such as police, fire and paramedics, who are essential in supporting emergency response.
- Don't pocket dial
- Store your cell phone carefully and never pre-program 9-1-1.
- Unintentional emergency calls from mobile phones can occur if you accidentally press a speed dial key that has been pre-programed to call 9-1-1. In some instances, you may not even know that the emergency key has been pressed.
- Check your phone's manual or contact your retail dealer to ensure any pre-programmed emergency numbers have been disabled.
- Don't give old cell phones to children as toys
- An out of service wireless phone can still call 9-1-1
- Don't hang up if you dial 9-1-1 accidentally
- If you dial 9-1-1 accidentally, please stay on the line and advise the operator. If you hang up, an operator will have to call back or send the police to be sure that you are ok.
- Do not send text messages to 9-1-1
- During a large scale emergency, such as a natural disaster, voice networks can become congested or over-loaded with an influx of mobile voice calls. This can result in individuals not being able to speak with the people they want to contact. In rare instances it can also hinder communications among emergency service personnel.
- Text messages, however, use less network capacity than normal mobile phone voice calls, and can be more reliable for brief communication with friends or loved ones during emergencies. So even if a network is congested with voice calls, a text message may have a higher likelihood of getting through sooner than a voice call. Equally important, by texting during an emergency, you are freeing up the voice lines for emergency officials to use.