Narragansett Police Department Shares Safety Tips During National 9-1-1 Education Month

NARRAGANSETT – Chief Sean Corrigan and the Narragansett Police Department would like to share guidelines and tips for accessing help in an emergency during National 9-1-1 Education Month.

According to the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), around 240 million calls are made to 9-1-1 each year in the United States. 

April is designated as National 9-1-1 Education Month, recognized by the United States Congress in 2008. 9-1-1 Education Month is recognized across the country to conduct outreach, educate community members on 9-1-1 resources and practices, and share the successes and challenges of the emergency communications system.

To help community members learn how to access help in an emergency, the Narragansett Police Department is providing the following safety tips from NENA: 

Reach 9-1-1 Via Phone OR Text     

Text-to-911 is available throughout the State of Rhode Island, and the Narragansett Police Department wishes to remind community members that 9-1-1 through messaging is an alternative to a typical phone call.

Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, who are having a medical emergency and cannot speak on the phone who are or in a situation where speaking is not possible can benefit from using messaging services to reach emergency services. If possible though, a traditional voice call is the best way to contact 9-1-1.

To contact emergency services by text message, simply enter “911” in the “To” field of your mobile device and then type your exact location and a brief description of what kind of help you need while keeping the text message under 140 characters. Once you hit send, respond to any questions you’re asked and follow the instructions given.

If Text-to-911 is temporarily unavailable, you should receive a message indicating this, plus instructions on how to contact 9-1-1 by other means. If you do not receive any replies from 9-1-1, try to contact emergency services another way. 

Know Your Location

With wireless calls, 9-1-1 operators can locate callers, but more information may be needed in order for emergency services to find exact locations. Be prepared to provide detailed information on your location to assist the 9-1-1 operator to ensure that help can get to you as quickly as possible. 

Stay Calm and Don’t Hang Up

Unless instructed to do otherwise, you should stay on the line when calling 9-1-1 in order to provide necessary information to the operator. 

Even if you accidentally dial 9-1-1, you should stay on the line and inform the operator that there is no emergency and that you dialed accidentally. While on the phone, please answer the telecommunicator’s questions. They are trying to determine whether or not there is an emergency or if someone is in need of assistance.

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