HOW DID 9-1-1 BECOME THE UNIVERSAL EMERGENCY NUMBER?….

The first telephone call was a call for help. On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas A. Watson, in different rooms, were about to try a new transmitter. Watson heard Bell’s voice saying, “Mr. Watson, come here. I want you!” Bell had upset the acid of a battery over his clothes. The first telephone call became a part of history.

The idea of being able to dial a single (universal) number to report emergencies was first utilized in Great Britain, back in 1937. Citizens could dial the digits “9-9-9″ and reach a central operator who would in turn dispatch law enforcement, fire, or ambulance as needed.

In developing similar systems, Belgium adopted “9-0-0″, Denmark provided “0-0-0″, and in Sweden the caller dials “80 000″. Canada is currently developing a national system utilizing “9-1-1″ and Japan has implemented “1-1-9″ throughout their country.

The concept of a single number received at a central reporting agency has been well accepted and has proven in practice to be an effective component of the total emergency response mechanism in these countries.