Emergency telephone number
An emergency telephone number is a number that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. The emergency number differs from country to country; it is typically a three-digit number so that it can be easily remembered and dialed quickly. Some countries have a different emergency number for each of the different emergency services; these often differ only by the last digit.
First introduced in the London area on 30 June 1937, the UK's 999 number is the world's oldest emergency call telephone service.
In many countries, dialing either 112 or 911 will connect callers to emergency services. For individual countries, see the list of emergency telephone numbers.
Configuration and operation
The emergency telephone number is a special case in the country's telephone number plan. In the past, calls to the emergency telephone number were often routed over special dedicated circuits. Though with the advent of electronic exchanges these calls are now often mixed with ordinary telephone traffic, they still may be able to access circuits that other traffic cannot. Often the system is set up so that once a call is made to an emergency telephone number, it must be answered. Should the caller abandon the call, the line may still be held until the emergency service answers and releases the call.An emergency telephone number call may be answered by either a telephone operator or an emergency service dispatcher. The nature of the emergency is then determined. If the call has been answered by a telephone operator, they then connect the call to the appropriate emergency service, who then dispatches the appropriate help. In the case of multiple services being needed on a call, the most urgent need must be determined, with other services being called in as needed.
Emergency dispatchers are trained to control the call in order to provide help in an appropriate manner; they can be assisted by computer aided call handling systems. The emergency dispatcher may find it necessary to give urgent advice in life-threatening situations. Some dispatchers have special training in telling people how to perform first aid or CPR.
In many parts of the world, an emergency service can identify the telephone number that a call has been placed from. This is normally done using the system that the telephone company uses to bill calls, making the number visible even for users who have unlisted numbers or who block caller ID. Enhanced 911 and similar systems like E112 can provide the location of landline callers by looking up the physical address in a database, and mobile callers through triangulation from towers or GPS on the device. This is often specifically mandated in a country's telecommunication law.
Operator-assisted dialing
When an emergency happened in the pre-dial telephone era, the user simply picked up the telephone receiver and waited for the operator to answer "number, please?". The user then responded with "get me the police", "I'm calling to report a fire", or "I need an ambulance/doctor". Even in large cities, it was seldom necessary to ask for these services by number.In small towns, operators frequently provided additional services, knowing where to reach doctors, veterinarians, law enforcement personnel and firefighters at all times. Frequently, the operator was also responsible for activating the town's fire alarm.
When manual switching systems began to be replaced by automatic, or "dial" systems, there was frequently concern among users that the very personalized emergency service provided by manual operators would be lost.
Because numbers were different for every exchange, callers either had to dial the operator or look up the telephone number. This problem was at least partially solved in Canada, the UK, and the US by dialing "0" for the local assistance operator in case of emergency, although faster service could be obtained if the user dialed the full number for the Police or Fire Department. This system remained essentially unchanged throughout most of North America until the 1970s.
Direct-dial numbers
999
The first emergency number system to be deployed anywhere in the world was in London on 30 June 1937 using the number 999, and this was later extended to cover the entire country. When 999 was dialed, a buzzer sounded and a red light flashed in the exchange to attract an operator's attention.The emergency number 999 was adopted in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1959 at the urging of Stephen Juba, mayor of Winnipeg at the time. The city changed the number to 911 in 1972, in order to be consistent with the newly adopted US emergency number.
Others have adopted 999 as their official emergency number, including Bahrain, Bangladesh, Botswana, the Cook Islands, Eswatini, Ghana, Guernsey, Hong Kong, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Kenya, Macau, Malaysia, Mauritius, Niue, Poland, Qatar, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago, Seychelles, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe. Other countries also use it as an alternative, and many GSM handsets will connect 999 to the emergency services regardless of location.
911
Because of the design of US central office switches, it was not practical to use the British emergency number 999. What was up to that time unassigned area code 911 was chosen instead. The "1" as the second digit was key; it told the switching equipment that this was not a routine call. The first 911 emergency phone system went into use by the Alabama Telephone Company in Haleyville, Alabama in 1968. On February 16, 1968, the first-ever 9-1-1 call was placed by Alabama Speaker of the House Rankin Fite, from Haleyville City Hall, to U.S. Rep. Tom Bevill, at the city's police station. However, 911 systems were not in widespread use until the 1980s when the number 911 was adopted as the standard number across most of the country under the North American Numbering Plan.The implementation of 911 service in the US was a gradual and haphazard process. Because telephone service boundaries did not always exactly match governmental and other jurisdictional boundaries, a user might dial 911, only to discover that they had been connected to the wrong dispatch center because they had telephone service from one location but lived within the boundaries of another jurisdiction.
Electromechanical switching equipment still in use made it difficult to adapt to recognize 911, especially in small towns and rural areas where the call might have to be switched over a considerable distance. For this reason, there are still county sheriff departments that have toll-free "800" area code numbers.
The rapid replacement of electromechanical switching systems in the 1980s with electronic or digital systems eliminated the problem of older switches that would not recognize 911. At this point, 911 service is available in most of North America, but there are still small, sparsely populated, or remote areas that do not have it.
Enhanced 911
Gradually, various problems were overcome; "smart" or "enhanced 911" systems were developed that not only would display the caller's number and address at the dispatch center but also could be configured so that 911 calls were automatically routed to the correct dispatch center, regardless of what central office the caller was served from. In the United States, most cities have E911 systems either in use, or in their emergency systems design plans.17, 18
In France, many telephone exchanges were closed at night but it was still possible to make emergency calls. An operator had to connect the emergency calls only. In 1913, an automatic system was set up. It made provision for calling the police by dialing 17 and the fire brigade by dialing 18. As more manual telephone exchanges were converted to dial operation, more and more subscribers had access to these special numbers. The service was not widespread until the 1970s.France now uses 112, the European emergency number, as well as 17 and 18 for police and fire brigade, specific to France.