Who is they?  They are the dedicated men and women of the Fire & EMS organizations—both career and volunteer—who come to our aid when we dial 9-1-1.  When you or a member of your family needs their assistance, time is of the essence and minutes wasted trying to find your house or business is precious time wasted.  The one of the reasons why emergency responders can’t readily locate someone’s home or business is because there is no address numbering on the building or at the end of the driveway.

Teach your children how to make that critical 911 call.  There are cases everyday across America where young children have made the 911 call that saved the life of one of their parents or one of their siblings.  Make sure your children know when to call 911 and how to do it.

One of the biggest advances in 911 technologies was in introduction of ANI/ALI.  No, that’s not a singing duet like the popular teen singing sensations Aly and AJ: ANI stands for Automatic Number Indicator and ALI stands for Automatic Location Indicator.  In plain English, when you call 911 from a hardline telephone, ANI/ALI displays the telephone number and physical location where that emergency call is being made from to the Emergency Communications Officer (ECO) who is taking the emergency call.  (Emergency Communications Centers receive that information from the local telephone service databases.)  The ECO will still ask for your name, telephone number and address to verify the validity of the ANI/ALI information on their screen because database errors can happen.

More and more people have wireless phones today; many do not even have a “landline telephone in their homes anymore.   Placing a 911 call from your wireless phone  is different: the Emergency Communications Officer does not have the assistance of ANI/ALI to help them determine where to send the emergency responders.  The ECO taking your call is likely working in a regional 911 Center or in a neighboring town; who gets your wireless 911 call is predicated on the location of the wireless phone tower that picks up your signal.  So, you’ll need to provide the city or town where you are and the type of emergency to the ECO who takes your call in addition to your wireless phone number and the street address.  (The FCC has required wireless phone providers to develop ANI/ALI technology for wireless phones, and some developments have been put in place, but the process is being completed in phases and may still be several years from completion.)

Getting the help you need in an emergency is a team effort involving the person with the need (you), the person who can access the best resources to help you (the ECO taking your 911 call), and the emergency responders who come to your assistance (law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS personnel).  Help you teammates out by numbering your home or business and ensuring that you—and your family members—know how to properly call 911 for assistance.  “They Can’t Help You Unless They Can Find You”