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Dialing 911 is an important first step in receiving needed attention in an emergency.  But what is an emergency?  Emergencies are classified as situations which require immediate assistance from medical, fire or law enforcement. Some examples from Lee County Public Safety are:

• Fire or smoke (brush or building)
• Car, plane, train, or boat accident
• Suspicion that a crime is being committed.
• Suspicious person or noises outside your home.
• Someone entering or around an unoccupied building.
• A person who is injured or ill and in need of immediate medical or hospital treatment.

Dialing 911 should never be used for getting directions, phone numbers, utility outages, or to test the 911 service.  Any test 911 calls need to be pre-authorized. 

False alarms have occurred because of low battery cordless phones which can send random impulse signals.  When these signals are sent, the switching system will receive notifications that there is an emergency.  Public safety officials urge cordless phone users to try to keep cordless phones on their base when not in use.

If a 911 call is made by mistake, the caller should not hang up. Tell the dispatcher what happened and that there is no emergency.

With advances in technology, 911 may now be accessed from cell phones. However, there are limitations.  911 calls placed from land line phones show the exact location of the phone and help can be dispatched immediately. If a call originates from a G.P.S. enabled cell phone, the 911 dispatcher can eventually find the caller through latitude and longitude positioning, but this takes time.  A 911 call made from an older cell phone without G.P.S. is impossible for the operator to pinpoint the location.

In an NBC6 report (February 2013), Lisa Zarazinski, Director of the Broward Sheriff's Office emergency call center said, "With more than 80% of 911 calls coming in from cell phones these days, it's more important than ever for the public to understand that giving the 911 operator your precise location can potentially be a life-saving move."

"If it is not an emergency situation, each county has numbers which may be called directly for services or information. Please do not call 911 unless it is an emergency," said Naples Personal Injury Attorney,  Randall Spivey of Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.

Southwest Florida Accident Attorney, Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by just one (1%)  percent of Florida attorneys. He has handled over 2,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida. For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at  239. 337.7483 or toll free at 1.888.477.4839, or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com.  Visit SpiveyLaw.com  for more information. You can contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier County 239.793.7748.