E911 Communications

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

MISSION STATEMENT

DEPARTMENTAL SUMMARY - E-911

The DeKalb County E-911 Center serves as the Public Safety Answering Point for unincorporated DeKalb County as well as most of the cities located within the County. The E-911 center is an Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE), by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch and is responsible for answering both emergency and non-emergency calls for service. The center dispatches Police, Fire-Rescue, Emergency Medical Services, and Sheriff’s Department. The center provides full dispatch services to all of unincorporated DeKalb County and to the cities of Avondale Estates, Clarkston, Lithonia, Pine Lake, Stone Mountain, Stonecrest, and Tucker.

The center provides Fire-Rescue dispatch services to the cities of Brookhaven, Chamblee, Decatur (rescue only), Doraville, and Dunwoody.  The center also provides Rescue dispatch services to that portion of Atlanta which lies in DeKalb.  The center answers Animal Services phones after normal business hours and on weekends. The center handles more than one million calls for service each year, over 800,000 of those being 9-1-1 calls.

The center is operated 24/7/365 utilizing four (4) teams on twelve hour shifts with a staff of more than 130. 

The cities of Chamblee, Decatur, and Doraville operate their own public safety answering points. 
The cities of Brookhaven and Dunwoody utilize the services of the Chattahoochee River 911 Authority as their public safety answering point.

• When calling from a cellular phone your location is not automatically known. Due to E-911 Phase II we are now given the coordinates of your location, but it is still not an exact location. 
• You will need to tell the dispatcher the location of the emergency.  Provide the street address or the street the emergency is on, along with the closest cross street or intersection.
• Be patient. Cellular calls are sometimes routed to a neighboring agency. This requires you to be transferred to the appropriate agency to help you.
• Stay on the phone until the dispatcher has all the necessary information.
• Be sure to leave your cell phone turned on in case there is a need to call you back.
• Also, remember to lock your keypad; this will prevent accidental calls from your cellular phone to 9-1-1.

Voice calls are still the best and fastest way to contact 911. Text to 911 is ONLY recommended when a voice call is NOT possible.
Text to 911 is intended primarily for use in three emergency scenarios:

1. For an individual who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, or has a speech disability
2. For someone who is in a situation where it is not safe to place a voice call to 911
3. A medical emergency that renders the person incapable of speech

ONLY text 911 in an emergency. Prank-texters can be identified and may be prosecuted according to local laws and regulations

WHEN TO CALL FOR HELP

Research has shown that the general public—those outside the world of providing emergency services—hesitates in making a call to 9-1-1. People may have difficulty recognizing the signs and symptoms of a medical emergency and feel that the call may be unwarranted. Some people may feel they are imposing on public services. Even those within the emergency services profession may fail to place a call because of underestimating the seriousness of a situation or denying that an emergency actually exists. Anyone can lose precious minutes in the delay of making a call due to concerns over the potential long-term impacts on work, childcare, or finances.

But it is up to you, the caller, to make that first step, to take action even if uncertainty exists or when a person you may feel needs help is actively denying that help is needed.

Remember, never be afraid to dial 9-1-1 because of uncertainty. If you THINK you or someone else is experiencing a medical emergency—call 9-1-1 immediately and let the dispatch center and other emergency service professionals help you. That’s why the service exists—to help you in an emergency situation. Examples of situations demanding immediate attention include:

• Reaction from a snakebite or bee sting
• An allergic reaction of any kind
• A seizure or convulsion
• Jerking movements that cannot be controlled
• Burns covering an area larger than the palm of your hand
• Electrical burn or shock, including lightning strike
• Severe injury or being the victim of trauma or an attack
• Bleeding or spurting blood that you can’t stop
• Not breathing or having difficulty breathing
• Gasping for air or turning blue or purple
• Choking and unable to clear the obstruction
• Unconsciousness, fainting, not alert, or making funny noises
• Chest pains, constricting bands, or crushing discomfort around the chest area—even if the pain stops
• Unusual numbness, tightness, pressure, or aching pain in the chest, neck, jaw, arm, or upper back

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU CALL 9-1-1

In DeKalb County, a professionally trained emergency call taker will answer your call to 9-1-1. Although the call taker is well aware of the potential for crisis and any associated anxiety you may be experiencing, you must have the composure to answer several questions about the situation and the patient’s medical status. Some of the questions help to determine the level of medical support sent to the scene—emergency service personnel and the type and number of emergency vehicles—while other questions are meant to assist you until emergency assistance arrives. Be ready to give medical information and describe any person (male, female, age, height, description of clothing) or vehicle (color, type, last direction of travel) involved in the incident.

In cases of serious medical problems, such as cardiac arrest, DeKalb call takers are trained to give real-time instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and life-saving first aid. When it looks like a baby may arrive earlier than anticipated, our call takers can assist you over the phone in safely delivering the infant.

All information is taken while a dispatcher simultaneously routes emergency medical service (EMS) professionals to your location. The same applies to giving emergency instructions. Your job, as the caller, is to answer the questions as accurately as possible and to pay particular attention to the call taker’s instructions. Also, since an emergency situation tends to provoke a great deal of anxiety, it’s up to you to remain as calm as possible. Do not argue. Do not lose your patience. Don’t tell the call taker to hurry. They already know that. Every question the call taker asks is important and designed to assist in the most appropriate and timely response to your emergency. The call taker will stay on the line with you as long as the situation dictates. Do not hang up until the call taker says it is okay to hang up. If the connection is lost, for whatever reason, the call taker will try to call you back.

There are other ways you, the caller, can assist. For example, if possible, you should unlock the front door to allow easy access for emergency responders, and put all pets inside a closed room. You may want to turn on the outdoor lights of the residence or business to increase visibility. If outside and aiding a victim of an accident, try to find someone who can flag down the emergency vehicle from a safe distance as it approaches.

QUESTIONS TO EXPECT

The call taker will always ask you to say the address of the emergency and your callback number for verification. The call taker will ask you to repeat the address in the interest of accuracy. You must remember that the efficiency of emergency services depends upon the information received, and that includes an address or some way to identify a location that does not have an exact address, such as a railroad crossing, playground, or open field.

After the address and callback telephone number of the emergency have been verified as correct, the call taker will ask you four universal questions. These questions, listed below, are based on the patient’s medical condition and will help to organize and send the assistance required. The questions are: 

• The person’s problem or the type of incident (“What’s the problem, tell me exactly what happened?”) 
• The person’s approximate age (“How old is s/he?”)
• Whether the person is conscious (“Is s/he conscious?”)
• Whether the person is breathing (“Is s/he breathing?”)

Exchanging this critical information with the call taker typically takes less than 30 seconds. After that, you may be asked to do nothing except wait for help to arrive, or the call taker may tell you to move to a safe environment (in case of a lightning storm or building fire, for example), or to assist in providing emergency care to the ill or injured person until help arrives.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

9-1-1 should only be used when there is a life-threatening emergency. This could be medical, fire or police. If there is any danger to someone’s life or situation where the person causing the problem is still around, call 9-1-1. It is best in all medical situations to use 9-1-1.

404-294-2911 is used for “urgency without emergency.” This can be anything other than a life-threatening situation. Use this number when your car has been broken into, an accident without injuries, or for general questions.

• Enter the numbers “9-1-1” in the “To” or “Recipient” field
• The first text to 911 should be short, include the location of the emergency, and ask for police, fire, or ambulance
• Answer questions and follow instructions from the 911 call taker
• Text in simple words – no abbreviations, slang, emojis, or special characters
• Keep text messages short as messages exceeding 160 characters may be broken and delivered out of order

• Text to 911 is not available everywhere and is not always available when roaming
• You must subscribe to your wireless carrier’s text or data plan in order to make or receive text messages. Unlike voice calls to 911, you cannot send a text message to 911 without a service plan
• Text messaging apps that only support texting with other app users or texting via social media are not required to support text to 911
• If Text to 911 is not available in your area, or is temporarily unavailable, you should receive a message indicating that Text to 911 is not available and to contact 911 by other means

• If you include anyone else on your Text to 911, it may not be received by 911
• Text GPS location information is not equal to current wireless location technology
• Voice calls are real-time communication and Text to 911 is not
• Pictures or videos cannot be received by 911 at this time
• Translation services are not available for Text to 911; please text in English or place a voice call when translation services are necessary

RECRUITMENT