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In An Emergency Call...911
In Nova Scotia, more than 400 agencies respond to police, fire, and medical emergencies. With Nova Scotia's 911 service, you can get help in an emergency just by dialing 9 - 1 - 1....no matter where you are in the province.
Getting help is faster with 911 because:
- 911 is easy to remember and dial
- 911 reaches all emergency responders
- the person who answers your call automatically knows the civic address you are calling from, the number of the telephone you are using, and the names of the police, fire , and ambulance agencies serving your area.
Below are the answers to questions people often ask about 911.
| Q: |
What is a 911 emergency? |
| A: |
In a 911 emergency
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someone's health, safety, or property is threatened
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someone needs the fire or police departments or an ambulance to deal with that threat right away.
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| Q: |
What is not a 911 emergency? |
| A: |
Calls that are not 911 emergencies include:
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| Q: |
What happens when I dial 911? |
| A: |
First your call goes to the public safety answering point (PSAP) nearest you. The call taker will answer your call with the question "911, what is your emergency?". After you speak, the call taker will find out if the emergency is at the civic address you are calling from by asking "Is this emergency at...?". This is because many people call 911 to report an emergency they have seen happen somewhere else.
The call taker may ask one or two quick questions to help decide which type of response (police, fire or ambulance) is needed. The call taker will then say "Stand by, and I will connect you with the police (or fire or ambulance, depending on your emergency)." By pushing one button, the call taker will then connect you to the dispatcher and give your name, address and information about your emergency. You can then speak directly with the dispatcher to give any more information. |
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| Q: |
Can the 911 call taker see non-listed and non-published telephone numbers? |
| A: |
Yes. In an emergency, the agency that will respond must know as much about the caller as possible. Your privacy is still protected, however, because the call taker cannot get information about someone unless that person makes a 911 call. |
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| Q: |
How important is it to display my civic number where it can easily be seen? |
| A: |
Very important. The emergency service that responds will look for that number on your home or business. They must be able to see it easily to find you quickly.
Calling 911 and reporting your emergency is only part of what is required to get help. The other part is displaying your civic number so that it can easily be seen from the roadway that fronts your property. Civic numbers should contrast with the colour of the background: black numbers on a white background are best. The numbers should be large and placed under an outside light. |
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| Q: |
I'm not sure of my civic number. Where can I find this information? |
| A: |
From either:
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HRM Civic Addressing at 490-5347, within HRM
- 1-800-388-3911 (toll-free), outside HRM
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| Q: |
What would happen if I dialed 911 but couldn't speak? |
| A: |
When no one answers, the call taker will ask a second time, "911, what is your emergency?" If there is still no response, the call taker will ask the same question using a TDD (telecommunications device for the deaf), in case the caller is hearing impaired. If no one speaks, the call taker will assume that there is an emergency. Police will be sent to the address right away. |
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| Q: |
If I dial 911 and then hang up, will 911 know about my call? |
| A: |
Yes. The system's computer will tell the call taker that an incoming 911 call has been abandoned (the caller has hung up) and it will show the phone number and civic address. The call taker will give this information to the police right away. If the call turns out to be a non-emergency, the police may choose to take legal action if they feel that the caller was abusing the system. |
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| Q: |
I have heard that 911 should not be programmed into the auto-dial memory of a telephone. Why not? |
| A: |
In Nova Scotia, as in most places that use 911 for an emergency responce, it is actually against the law to use an automatic dialer (the speed dial) to dial 911. Here is why.
First of all, the number 911 is easy to remember and to dial in an emergency.
Secondly, experience has shown that unless auto dialing is illegal, many people will accidentally make non-emergency calls through these devices. When the police have to investigate calls that turn out to be related to accidental dialing, they use time and resources that would be much better spent responding to real emergencies. |
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