Emergency 911

9-1-1 is for emergencies only. You should only dial 9-1-1 if someone is hurts or in danger, or if you are in need of police, fire or emergency medical assistance. If you aren't sure your situation is an emergency, you should be on the side of safety and call 9-1-1. If you do not have an emergency and/or are seeking information you can also get us at our administrative line 478-822-9111.

The 9-1-1 Call Taker is trained to ask a series of questions. Some questions are always the same:

• "Peach County 911, What's the address of the emergency?"
• "What is the telephone number you are calling from?"
• "Okay, tell me exactly what happened?"

Once the initial information and nature of the emergency is determined, the appropriate public safety responders can be dispatched (Police, Fire and/or Emergency Medical Services). Depending on the type of emergency, the Communication’s Officer may need to keep you on line to provide further instructions or information until help arrives. For example, if you are reporting a medical emergency, or accident, the Communication’s Officer will continue with a series of questioning and pre-arrival instructions. Be assured that while you are being asked those questions, appropriate help is being dispatched without delay.

If you don't know the address you are calling from, many times your address and telephone number will automatically appear on the Communication’s Officers computer screen. This is not foolproof, however, and does not work with cell phones. The Communication’s Officer will always ask you to confirm the address and telephone number.

When you dial 9-1-1 from your cell phone, your call will hit the nearest tower of your cell phone provider. Just advise the exact location of the emergency and 9-1-1 operator from that county/city will transfer you to the appropriate agency if it is not one that Peach County 911 handles.

Also, keep in mind that cell phone calls are not always very clear. There is a routing process that the call follows and sometimes the beginning of the call is broken up. Please be patient as the Communication’s Officer is doing everything they can to assist you.

At times, during emergency situations such as traffic accidents, you may not know where you are. The 9-1-1 Call Taker will ask you a series of questions to help you remember where you were headed, what roads you took, etc. Remember, it is your responsibility to take note of what street you are on, what cross streets you are near, what mile markers you passed, etc. Keeping your location in mind will enable the Communication’s Officer to dispatch help more quickly and efficiently. You can also download Rapid SOS on your phone. It will help us to get more accurate coordinates for your call in the event you are unable to provide a location. This is not fool proof but it is one method that can help us, help you.

Please remain on the line and advise the Communication’s Officer of the fact you dialed by mistake.

Peach County E911 is equipped with TDD (Teletype Device for the Deaf) detectors which enable the 9-1-1 Call Taker's to communicate with TDD's from their workstations. This is a requirement under law.

Peach County 9-1-1 has access to Language Line services providing translation for over 140 languages. If you contact us, for emergency or non-emergency needs, we can transfer you to this number for translation.

Many 9-1-1 hang-up calls are made by children playing with the telephone. Each time a 9-1-1 hang-up call is received, the Communication’s Officer must immediately call back the phone number to determine if there is an emergency. If there is no answer on callback, law enforcement personnel will immediately be dispatched if the call comes from a landline.

If, on callback, there is an answer, the Communication’s Officer will question the person (an adult) who answers the phone to determine if an emergency exists. The Communication’s Officers have been trained to "pick up" on any unusual noises or voice inflections to determine if there is a problem at a location without the caller actually advising the Communication’s Officer.

If a child answers the phone on a callback, the Communication’s Officer will request to speak to an adult to ensure that everything is okay. Some children are too young to understand what we need (give the phone to an adult), so the Communication’s Officer will still send an officer to respond.

We ask that adults do not punish children who call 9-1-1 and then hang up, but rather explain to them that 9-1-1 should only be used in an emergency. If children are punished for dialing 9-1-1, it may scare them from using it in the future, whether they have a legitimate emergency or not.

The Emergency Communications 9-1-1 Center also is available to do tours for children (and adults) so they are able to have a better understanding of 9-1-1 and the services provided. To schedule a tour, they can email Assistant Director Womick at Kristie-womick@peachcounty.net or call 478-822-9111.