When do I use 9-1-1?

Call 9-1-1 to report an incident that you believe requires response or intervention of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or emergency medical services. The professionals answering the 9-1-1 call will determine which agencies or units should respond and how quickly they to need to reach the incident.
 

What happens when you call 9-1-1?

Telephone computers are configured to identify the location where the 9-1-1 call originated and will automatically route it to the correct 9-1-1 center for your location.  Special computers and monitors display the location and telephone number where the 9-1-1 call originated.  A 9-1-1 call placed from a land line will display the phone number of the caller, the address and apartment number or lot number and the name of the telephone subscriber.  A 9-1-1 call placed from a cellular phone will display a general proximity of where the caller is located and the cellular phone number of the subscriber; be prepared to provide more detailed location information.  
 
In Duval County, a 9-1-1 call from anywhere in Atlantic Beach will go to the Atlantic Beach Police Department.  9-1-1 calls from Neptune Beach and Jacksonville Beach will ring into the respective police departments for those jurisdictions. 9-1-1 calls originating anywhere else in Duval County will ring into the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. 9-1-1calls requiring assistance for Fire or Medical services will be transferred with the touch of a button the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department.
 

Please have the following information available when calling 9-1-1 for emergency assistance:

• The address of the emergency. This may also include the location, i.e., business name, apartment name, building number/letter, intersection, etc.
• The phone number from which you are calling.
• The nature of the problem and exactly what happened. The 9-1-1 officer will continue to ask more detailed questions to ensure the first responders will have as much information as possible to appropriately handle the call for assistance. 
• The 9-1-1 officer is able to dispatch first responders to the emergency while remaining on the phone with the 9-1-1 caller.
• Please stay on the line until the 9-1-1 officer has given proper instructions as well as first aid instructions, if necessary. 
• Turn the house lights on and make sure the address is clearly visible from the street.
• Send someone to flag down the ambulance if the house is difficult to locate or if the address is not visible from the middle of the street.
• Gather the patient's insurance card.
• Write down information about patient's medical history, names of doctors, medications and allergies, if possible.
• Clear a route to the patient for a stretcher.
• Put away family pets.

Hearing Impaired

 All 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering points (PSAPs) in the state of Florida are required to have TDD capability for communications with the hearing and speech impaired. 
 

Non-English Speaking 

All Duval County PSAPs have translator services available for non-English speaking callers.