Today’s guest blog entry comes from my cousin Troy who sent me this note via email concerning 911 and VOIP. Troy is currently 911 dispatcher by day and a musician by night. One day we will tour under the name of ‘Palmer & Palmer’.
“Here’s a thought for you to ponder. When you call 911 from a land based line, and some cell phone service providers, your info (address, name, phone number) immediately “spills” into our dispatch centre. You do not have to speak for emergency services to respond. VOIP doesn’t allow this to happen….in fact a wrong address, name and phone number will most likely be “dropped” to the police causing us to go to the wrong location if you are unable to verbally confirm the information The general public is not informed as to the safety factor…they just look at the cost. You would be surprised how frequently we receive a 911 call with no voice contact that results in a life threatening situation.
This is a great point brought up by Troy. I was surprised to hear that a high number of calls to 911 don’t have any voice attached to it…I imagined myself in a coherent state while dialing 911…but who KNOWS what can happen to you when you need to call them?
I know that I’ve checked into a few VOIP providers and they DO provide information on how 911 works, but they don’t really come out with a warning flag for you. It’s more like it’s a clause to read in your contract. People should be more aware when dealing with VOIP.
As for myself, I will continue to look into VOIP, but only if they offer Enhanced 911 (aka, when I call from my house, the dispatch will have my name and address).
3 replies on “Scoop on Enhanced 911”
Ryan….I’m hooked man!! This blogging thing is addictive. Yesterday after our VOIP discussion thru email I finally went to your blog and read everything….from start to finish. You have some interesting links….we share a lot of the same tastes.
I’ll see if I can get anymore VOIP info for you from a 911 Police perspective. Thanks for the “guest” spot.
Troy
Ha ha, that is awesome.
The world of blogging in addictive. I don’t know what’s more interesting…creating entries for your own blog, or reading your friend’s blogs to find out what’s going on in their heads.
You’re welcome anytime for a guest spot! Until you get your own blog.
Do you remember that tv show where it showed the people calling 911, the dispatcher and then the police/ambulance response? the most memorable episode I saw was this kid who somehow got his tongue stuck to the ice inside the freezer! I am not sure how he even got the phone to call, but they were having a hard time understanding him (for obvious reasons).