9-1-1 backup

“Ring, ring, why don't you give me a call?
Ring, ring, the happiest sound of them all”
- ABBA, lyrics to “Ring Ring”

With Cub Scouts, as with most Americans, when you ask them what number to call in an emergency, the answer is 9-1-1. But what if 9-1-1 didn’t work? Do you know the direct phone numbers for your local police, fire or ambulance?

Is this just a hypothetical scenario? Not for residents of Salt Lake City last month. On March 25, for about five hours, some of the 911 calls made by AT&T Wireless customers in the Salt Lake City area were routed to dispatchers in Seattle. The police of Salt Lake City “called AT&T and confirmed that it was occurring.”

Bottom Line

Take the time to add fire, police, ambulance, and poison control to your cell phone. Back this up with a paper list kept near every phone for your children to use. Don’t rely solely on 9-1-1.

http://sorc911.com/911guide.htm
http://www.gov.ky/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/CIGHOME/PRESSROOM/ARCHIVE/200301/KNOWNINE.PDF

Staying Calm During an Emergency

Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls 9-1-1. He gasps, "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator says "Calm down. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, and then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says, "OK, he’s dead. Now what?"

For the Readyman Webelos Activity, young boys are taught four ways to demonstrate “Courage” during an emergency. Be Strong, Be Calm, Be Clear, Be Careful. I’d like to focus on the importance of being Calm and Clear.

In June of 2009, a natural gas explosion blew the roof off of a ConAgra Food Plant during working hours. Here is one call made to 9-1-1.

"ConAgra just blew up," a caller said.
"ConAgra?" the responder asked.
"ConAgra. In Garner."
"What did it do ma'am?" the responder said. "What do you mean it blew up?"
"It blew up! Please send some help."

Notice how little “real” communication is going on here. When asked a question by the responder, the caller just repeats the same words back, “ConAgra”, “It blew up”. The event is vivid and clear in the mind of the caller to whom ConAgra is obvious and “it blew up” is self-evident. “Please send some help” gives no clue to the scope of the problem, is one EMT needed or a fleet of ambulances?

Callers forget that what is obvious to them may not be obvious to someone at a phone bank in another city. Being Calm and Clear means carefully providing details like “the ConAgra Food Plant #3 in Garner has suffered a huge explosion with dozens injured. We need dozens of ambulances and fire control for an industrial plant.”

Consider this call to 9-1-1 in Arizona in 2008,

"There's three dogs, but one is very aggressive, and the man is holding one, and there's kids over here, too."

How would you interpret this? The responder said she would contact Animal Control. 12 minutes later there is a second call, "We're still waiting for an officer. We've got injuries." Is the picture clear yet? The responder sent a reminder to Animal Control. Then a minute later, "Uh, there's a dogfight over here, and there's been a man bit. And I called about 15 minutes ago, and nobody's here yet." With this call, a different operator, and the magic words, a man’s been bit, medical personal (Fire Dept EMT) were finally mobilized. It turns out a pit bull wriggled out of its leash, lunged at a man with two small kids walking his beagle, bit his right forearm, and dragged him about 7 feet after his beagle barked at the pit bull. Could you have guessed any of this from the original call to 9-1-1?

Watch out for "buzz words" and technical jargon. In another emergency call there was confusion between an armed “robbery” and a “burglary”. Do you know the difference? A robbery is a crime happening now – immediate response is needed to rescue the victim and catch the robber. A burglary is after the fact, the robber is gone, and there is no need for police to hurry. The victim in a Dry Cleaning store armed robbery activated the silent alarm but the emergency dispatcher reported it as a 10-15, burglary just occurred. So the police did not use sirens, arrived slowly at the scene, to find a distressed victim asking, “What took you so long?”

Bottom Line

Be very clear on 9-1-1 to say what you need – police, fire, ambulance. Be clear on what is damaged and injuries and the number of people needing medical attention. Call back if you think 9-1-1 misunderstood or ask to speak with a supervisor.

Can your hear me now?

“'Mr. Watson--come here--I want to see you" – the first telephone message by Alexander Graham Bell

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Ready.Gov program and the American Red Cross are adding mobile phones and chargers to its recommendations for basic supplies in citizen emergency preparedness kits. While there is the fear that cell towers may be overwhelmed during large-scale emergencies, there is no doubt that mobile phones can be life savers during personal emergencies.

In an Israeli study on Mobile phones and emergencies respondents said cell phones would be most useful for “traffic accidents,” “breakdown of vehicles” , “terror attacks” and “urgent medical problems.” But actual usage shows mobile phones were most pertinent for: informing someone of being late to arrive, providing an urgent message, calling a taxi, a vehicle breakdown, and getting directions. Only once have I been stranded by a car breakdown and fortunately a pay phone was a short walk away. Today I always travel with a cell phone “just in case.”

There are also two non-obvious ways a cell phone can help during emergencies.

1. If the phone towers are busy, try texting. Text uses less bandwidth often works when dialing won't.
2. Add the entry “ICE” to your cell phone address book. It stands for “In Case of Emergency” and is the number you want a Doctor or First Responder to call in case you are unconscious or unable to respond (or dead). List alternative contacts as ICE1, ICE2, etc.

[From InsightCommunity.com] Parents love the idea of tracking their children with cell phones -- but the teachers don't. Some schools are banning cell phones for children, and advising parents to track their children the old-fashioned way -- by calling the principal's office. But last month, MSNBC reported that "family locator" plans are available from Sprint, Verizon Wireless and Alltel for $9.99 a month. Verizon's "Chaperone 2.0" service will send parents a text message if the child strays from a pre-defined geographical area.
For the ultimate in cell phone coverage, the Iridium Satellite phone network uses 66 satellites (currently 65) for pole-to-pole global calling. The original company went bankrupt but a new owner is keeping the system alive with the US Dept. of Defense as a major client. These phones are not cheap! I recall the Associated Press rung up some huge bills using satellite phones during the war in Afghanistan. SatellitePhoneStore.com offers Iridium Satellite Phone rentals for $35-$75 per week plus $1 to $1.50 per minute of use anywhere in the world. There is no “roaming charge” unless you’re calling from off planet. (To the moon Alice. To the moon!)

Bottom Line
Cells phone are excellent tools but ONLY if
1. You’re carrying it
and
2. It has a charge
Consider investing in a cell phone car charger. There is nothing worse than your cell phone going dead when you need it most away from home. Pack a wall outlet cell phone charger in your go-kit and include a charger in your suitcase when you travel. Other options for emergency recharging include a super battery, adapters for AA batteries, and manual crank chargers.

If money is keeping you or a parent/grandparent from owning a cell phone, look at pre-paid phones costing $10 to $20 for a block of minutes for emergency use.

For more information on how to use your cell phone during an emergency, check out WirelessFoundation.org regarding texting, ICE, and 50 ways to use your phone camera. For example you can send a photo of a map showing where you are, send doctors (911?) a photo of an accident victim, photo of an authorized person to pick up your kids, photos at a car accident, etc.

Lastly, don’t take on extra risk assuming the cell phone will rescue you. People are now calling 911 from national parks to report being lost while hiking. Having a cell phone is no excuse for not carrying a map or other lack of preparation. And worse yet, you might become lost in “a dead zone.”

Cell Phone Numbers for the New Year

A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other ~Author Unknown

If you are considering resolutions to make for the New Year, permit me to add one to your list - add the following list of phone numbers to your cell phone address book.

1. Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222. Of course call 9-1-1 for serious poisoning but suppose you just want to ask a question, "Johnny ate some fire ants, will he get sick?"
   [Urban Myth? A parent calls poison control about his child eating ants. Will he get sick? The answer is no. That's great news, says the parent, but just to be sure I fed my child some ant poison to kill the ants. Poison Control, responds, NOW we have an emergency...]
2. ICE (In Case of Emergency) - first responders are now asked to check a cell phone for an entry called "ICE". It represents the person you want called in case you are incapacitated (or dead).
3. Your Car Insurance Company - if you have an auto accident, call your insurer to find out what information you must collect and what actions you must take.
4. Police Dept - for a simple accident with no need for an ambulance, call the police directly instead of using 9-1-1.
5. Tow Truck Company or AAA - who you gonna call if your car breaks down? (NOT 9-1-1)
6. Local Taxi Company - when the tow truck drives off with your broken down car, how will you get home?
7. Your Boss - (continuing the auto accident theme) you'll want to call the office and let them know you'll be late.
8. Your Next Door Neighbor - due to an accident or bad weather, perhaps you won't make it home tonight. Will your neighbor feed your cat?
9. Your personal Doctor - your neck is sore after that car accident, better schedule an appointment.
10. Power Company - you don't want to look up their number in the dark when you lose power do you?
11. Favorite Take Out or Delivery Food - there are times I'm driving home and think, if only I knew the number of my favorite pizza place. I could order now and pick it up on the way home.

Bottom Line

Dial 9-1-1 when there is a medical, fire or police emergency, such as
• Life or lives are in danger
• A fire
• Serious injury
• Serious medical condition
• A serious crime in progress

9-1-1 is so convenient that Americans now call it for everything - directions when lost, to ask questions, etc. But this is WRONG. 9-1-1 is for serious emergencies only:
• Life or lives are in danger
• A fire
• Serious injury
• Serious medical condition
• A serious crime in progress

For all other situations use the phone numbers listed above and now stored in your cell phone!