September 15, 2004
911: The North American Emergency phone number
The first link in the chain of survival is early access...
In the U.S. and Canada the universal phone number for emergency is "9-1-1." In Bethel we have enhanced 911; you pay 75 cents a month on your phone bill to help pay the cost of this awesome life saving system. Enhanced 911 uses "state of the art" caller I.D. technology to locate the emergency, record and enhance the audio and dispatch the appropriate emergency vehicles to the scene.
A few towns like Aniak and Hooper Bay have basic 911. This system does not enable the dispatcher to locate the scene or any other enhancements, but does expedite the emergency call.
Most of the villages in our area do not have even basic 911. This problem occurs throughout rural Alaska. In Juneau there has been an attempt to rectify this problem, with the implementation of Regional 911 Centers. This will (like most important things) take time and money. In the mean time, if you're in a village without 911, you should memorize the clinic and VPO/TPO/VPSO phone numbers and 1-800-478-9112: this phone number goes directly to "C" Detachment of the Alaska State Troopers in Bethel. After hours it is forwarded to the Bethel Police Dept. dispatch, which then calls the appropriate agency.
The first catalyst for 911 came in 1957 when the National Association of Fire Chiefs recommended the use of a single phone number for reporting fires. By 1967 the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended that a single phone number should be established nationwide for reporting emergency situations. Other agencies and organizations expressed a keen interest and the FCC was asked for a solution.
In November of 1967, the FCC met with AT&T to find a universal emergency phone number. In 1968 AT&T announced it would establish 9-1-1 as the emergency code throughout the U.S.
The code 9-1-1 was chosen because it best fit the needs of all parties involved. First and most important, it met the public requirements because it is brief, easily remembered and can be dialed quickly. Second, because it is a number that is not used as an office code, area code or service code, it best met the long range numbering plans and switching configurations of the telephone industry.
On February 16, 1968, Senator Rankin Fite made the first 911 call in Haley, Alabama. On February 22, 1968, Nome, Alaska, implemented 911 services. In 1973 the White House issued a national policy statement, which recognized the immense benefits of 911.
By 1976, 17 percent of the U.S. had a 911 service. By 1979, 26 percent had 911 services. The U.S. was increasing 911 by about 70 systems a year. By 1987, about 50 percent of the U.S. had 911 and Canada had also adopted it.
By the year 2000, nearly 93 percent of the U. S. had some type of 911 services; much of this was enhanced 911. Some type of 911 covers about 96 percent of the geographic area of the U.S.
Someday, I hope all of Alaska will have 911.