"HELP! CALL 9-1-1!"

If you were to look at the history of 9-1-1, you may be surprised to find that the first call for help may have taken place on March 10, 1876. That is when Alexander Graham Bell spilled some battery acid on his clothes and said to Mr. Watson, over his new transmitter, "come here. I want you!"

In 1937, in Britain, they thought of an idea of a universal number to report emergencies. In 1967, the President's Commission on Law Enforcement in the United States recommended this same idea. It was not until 1987 that Canada created its own nationwide emergency number and adopted the numbers 9-1-1.

When you dial 9-1-1, your call goes to a centralized call center where you will be asked whether you want, Fire, Police, or Ambulance? In the majority of 9-1-1 Operational Communications Centers (OCC) your call is down-streamed to a computer that automatically fills a computer generated file with your name, address, and phone number. This saves the 9-1-1 operator precious time.

A 9-1-1 operator goes through many months of extensive training. The learning curve for an operator is like a space shuttle on take-off, straight up! They also learn to ask questions in a very controlled and systematic order. They are trained to glean as much information as possible, in the shortest amount of time. During an in-progress call, where a suspect is running, the operator will ask questions very quickly, such as, how tall?; how long is the hair and what color?; any facial hair?; any distinguishing marks?; thin, medium, or heavy?; what type of clothing?; what was the direction of travel?. It is important to let the 9-1-1 operator control the conversation.

There is a saying; "9-1-1 operators save seconds and seconds save lives" Little did Alexander Graham Bell realize, when he first asked for help, that his invention would become the eyes and ears for many police officers, ambulance attendants, and fire departments around the world.

Barry A. Wiese
OCC Supervisor
Surrey RCMP