In the United States it is very easy to contact the police, fire department, and emergency medical services for those emergency situations. You need only dial 911 from any telephone, in any town or city, in any state in America; even in the countryside. This includes mobile phones as well. Emergencies are considered to be for the purposes of reporting a crime in progress, reporting suspicious activities where one believes a crime might be in progress, reporting a fire, or requesting an ambulance in situations where emergency medical help is required. You should NOT call 911 for non-emergencies such as asking for directions, seeking information about public services, seeking information about arrests already made, seeking medical help of a general nature that is not considered an emergency, or anything that is not considered an emergency in general. The emergency services in America are of the highest quality in the world. The police, fire fighters, and emergency medical services are extremely professional, dedicated, and trust-worthy.  Emergency services are provided to everyone equally. American citizens, permanent residents, or foreign visitors are all given the same high quality of service.

There are some important things for those who do not speak English very well, or at all, to understand about calling emergency services. When calling 911, please allow the dispatcher time to understand your emergency. If you speak English, tell the dispatcher what your emergency is. If you don’t speak English well, try your best to make your emergency understood. If you cannot speak English at all, try to let them know what language you speak. If you speak only Chinese then just say something like, “speak Chinese?” or “Chinese?”  Many, but not all, 911 call centers either have interpreters there or they utilize a language line such as the AT&T Language Line, or other private translation companies they subscribe to, that can connect in to the call in a few minutes and have someone on the telephone translating for you and the dispatcher. This gives many, but not all, 911 call centers in America the ability to communicate in over 100 different languages. During your call you may be placed on hold for brief periods of time, especially if you do not speak English very well or at all. It may take a few minutes for the dispatcher to get the interpreter and have them connect into your call to translate. Smaller towns may or may not have access to translation services but they will still try to help you. DO NOT hang the phone up until told to do so by the dispatcher or interpreter. If you feel you must leave the phone for your safety, just leave the phone off the hook and depart the area. By keeping the phone off the hook you are still connected and keeping the phone connected will help the emergency services find where you are.

Many people in times of emergencies cannot think very well and easily forget their address or simply do not know the address where they are. Most wired phones in major metropolitan areas, and an increasing number in rural areas, have been configured so that when someone calls 911, the address of that telephone is displayed on the computer screen of the 911 dispatcher. This includes pay phones, which are free when dialing 911. The big problem has been with mobile phones. The technology to precisely locate mobile phone calls was not available when those networks were first installed. Several years ago the U.S. government mandated that all mobile phone networks must eventually be configured to show the geographical location, within 300 feet, of anyone who is calling 911 on a mobile phone. Such network configuration will take several years to complete but is already underway and activated in some areas now. When complete, just about everyone calling 911 in America, not matter what type of phone, no matter where, will have their location displayed on the dispatcher’s computer screen.