02-28-2007, 08:06 PM
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Master Of His Domain
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: KC
Posts: 815
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Cell phone users report problems dialing 911
By Stella Inger
NewsChannel 3 More people than ever before are dialing 911 using their cell phones. But are cell phone users at risk when they do that? NewsChannel 3 has more on what you need to know before you pick up your cell phone to call 911. When we dial 911, we expect help right away. But with a lot of people using cell phones these days, more and more people are finding out that help isn't really three numbers away. Firefighters arrived at a Cathedral City house to save a man from his burning home on Tuesday night and it's all thanks to his next door neighbor. "When we realized the smoke was coming from the roof, we dialed 911 immediately, especially since we couldn't get anyone at the front door." Dickson and his partner made the 911 call from a cell phone. But were shocked when they were told they would have to hang up and call another number. "When we dialed 911, they said they couldn't connect us to the fire department, so they actually gave us number to where we had to hang up and call again. Once we got that, we got a voicemail for some police department. So we called 911 again and they gave us another number that finally got us connected to the fire department." If you use your cell phone to dial 911, depending on where you live, it may be answered by the California Highway Patrol. Then CHP transfers the call to your local police or fire department. If you live in Palm Springs, Cathedral City or Indio, your call goes directly to the emergency dispatch center in those cities. That is not what happened when Dickson called 911. "We handle calls from wireless phones for the most of all carries, with the exception of Nextel at this point, because they're still working on their trunk lines." And while Nextel was the issue in this incident, there are other emergency problems local dispatchers are up against when callers dial 911 using their cell phones. "Unlike a landline, which would give a specific address from the caller, wireless doesn't provide that information. It provides a general location and that is based on the cell tower your cell phone hits." "It's kind of nerve wrecking because a lot of people don't have home phones. We don't, so it scares me." |
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03-02-2007, 09:37 PM
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Wheres The Answer Key?
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: MTA 002, MTA 010 and MTA 036
Posts: 18
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