• Never hang up a 911 call, even if you didn’t intend to call. You won’t get in trouble, so stay on the line to let the operator know you accidentally called.

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• Calls are answered in the order that they are received. Hanging up and calling back puts you in the back of  the line.

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• Emergencies in public places often result in multiple people dialing 911. Your call could be the first person or 10th person to report a collision. Please stay on the line until the 911 Operator answers. If the report is in the system, the call will be brief.

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• Know the numerical address for your location. Sometimes call data doesn’t include an accurate location. 

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• Cell phone calls may take a few seconds longer to reach 911. 

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• Cell signal can be hard to get during a major traffic incident or disaster. People stuck in traffic tend to use their cell phone, which causes spotty connections. People who live near a major roadway may have difficulty getting a call to go through when large traffic back up occurs.

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• Pocket dialing happens when a person doesn’t lock their phone and then places it in a pocket, purse or backpack.  This may result in the phone calling 911 without the owner knowing it. 

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• You can text 911 if you don't have the ability to make a voice call.  

• If your business has switched to VoIP, please read the tips for calling 911 from a VoIP phone.

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• Business phones may present the 911 operator with an inaccurate address. For instance, some companies may have large centralized phone systems that may reflect the address and phone number for the business’ headquarters or regional office, so the address E911 receives with the call may be in another business location locally or out-of-state. 

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• If you hang-up a 911 call before the operator answers, the 911 operator will try to call you back. If your phone is part of a large corporate telephone network, the 911 operator may receive the business’ operator or a calling tree message; neither of which will provide the 911 operator the exact location of the emergency.

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• Many business lines require the caller to dial “9” to get an outside line and dial “1” to begin a long distance call. This combination often results in unintended calls to 911. Don’t worry, you won’t get in trouble, but please stay on the line to let the 911 operator know you accidentally dialed 911.

Call if you can, text if you must. Martin County E-911 now has the ability to receive and send text messages.

 

The public should only text 911 if it is the only option and making a voice call to 911 isn’t possible.

 

This service will be very useful to those who are non-verbal, hard of hearing, deaf and speech impaired.