911 down

[dwtt]

What do you think will happen if the EMS 911 system were to go down? Would people needing police and fire department help just be left on their own?

Yep, it happened last night in Washington DC, when the 911 system was down for 2 hours and there was no communication available. There was one story about a woman who was hit in the head and 911 calls to the police didn't have any response since the call center weren't able to radio out to the police. This just reinforces the need to be able to protect ourselves and don't rely on 911.

I don't have a link to a web site for those of Gen Y who need links to validate real life incidents.

[AdidasCJ]

Just think how bad it will be here when a quake hits... Looked how screwed people were when the fire shut down the pass....

People HAVE to prepare and be self sustaining for a few days!

[Doheny]

I don't have a link to a web site for those of Gen Y who need links to validate real life incidents.

http://wtop.com/dc/2016/08/dc-911-outage-caused-by-contractor-who-pulled-wrong-switch/

That was easy...

When I was still on the job they'd have us leave our stations and roam our area and/or post in visible locations. Plus, most people know where fire and police stations are and hopefully are smart enough to go to one of them if need be.

Phone lines go down, things break, stuff happens. Carry on.

[BigPimping]

Watch "The Purge."

[twinfin]

I have directly experienced such a scenario as an emergency responder several times in my career. People find alternatives or decide they can just wait until later. Some will send someone to fetch help, others may transport an ill or injured person they would not have otherwise attempted to.

It's good to run these scenarios through your own mind and always be ready to think of other ways of helping yourself when you unexpectedly find yourself unable to get emergency assistance due to downed phone lines, jammed cell phone systems or other causes.

Self reliance is patriotic!

[wjc]

Heh...no, we'll just go back to the 60's when you actually had to take care of yourself.

[MrOrange]

You talkin' just the 911 call center system, or phone service in general?


Most folks don't understand that when you call 911, you're not calling the police, you're calling 911. They'll ask you questions and decide whether or not they even want to contact police/fire/medical, then it will take a few more minutes for them to relay the info. I always advise friends and relatives to find a direct number to dispatch for their local PD, usually there will be a published "non-emergency dispatch" line. That's if you need the police NOW; if you have a more general emergency, e.g. a traffic accident w/injuries, please call 911 and let them coordinate.

If you're using a cell phone, your call will go to CHP dispatchers who have no idea where you're at. For example, where I live, 911 cell calls go to the Golden Gate Division dispatch center, so they can only assume that I'm somewhere in the nine Bay Area counties.

Or, in the immortal words of Travon Martin: "White people call the police, black people call they cousin."

Heh...no, we'll just go back to the 60's when you actually had to take care of yourself.

Or you had a different number to call for the police, fire, ambulance, hospital, or your local family GP. Cops themselves didn't have it much better. Roy Huntington of American Handgunner magazine retired a few years ago (and beat feet outta Cali), he mentioned that when he started, they had radio receivers in the cars. Not transceivers, mind you, just receivers. They'd respond to the call, then have to look around for a phone to borrow to call in to dispatch.