Ware County is fortunate enough to be designated as an “E911” Center or Enhanced 911 Center which simply means that Ware County 911 has the unique ability to display certain location information immediately for incoming landline calls. However, the dispatchers will ask you a few questions to help determine the type of assistance needed and to verify where the assistance is needed. Although the Enhanced system is a blessing for those in need, it can also create a problem when a call comes in through a business landline that contains multiple lines, for example, Satilla Regional Medical Center, Flash Foods Headquarters, St. Illa Center, etc. Without any human contact, 911 and emergency response personnel are left without the ability to discern the exact location of the caller because the only location available is the main business address. Had there actually been an emergency, the caller’s location could not have been pinpointed and the caller could have gone without much needed assistance until it was too late.
Accidents happen. People don’t usually realize that the call had time to make a connection and reach 911 before they hang up the phone. If you do accidently dial into 911, do not hang up without first speaking to the dispatcher. Stay on the line to identify yourself, your location (including your suite number, apartment number, office number, room number, etc.), and to explain that you misdialed. By staying on the line, you save valuable time that may be needed for emergency 911 calls. Protocol at Ware County is to call the number back in an attempt to make contact but often times the caller will either not answer the call or will hang up in a panic or afraid that they will “get in trouble” when they realize that it is 911 calling. At a multiline business, it is often not possible to dial back to the exact extension so rather then getting the actual caller the dispatcher will dial into an operator who has no idea where the call came from and no way of tracing it back to the initial caller. If the location is available, law enforcement personnel are dispatched to verify that the location and the caller are safe. This becomes more difficult when the multiline business hang up call comes in with the exact location unknown.
911 Hang up calls are by their very nature, welfare check. It is a hand reaching out for help, without a voice, without the ability to say the words. Do not hesitate to call 911. The system was created to make it easy to contact emergency assistance. But if you do make a mistake, stay on the line, talk to the dispatcher and verify the information. Make sure that the system works as efficiently and effectively as possible for everyone.
Submitted by Bettie J. Dowling
Ware County 911
08-01-11
11:45 hrs