MEMPHIS, Tenn. — April is 911 Education Month. When people call 911, every second matters. That's why dispatcher want you to help them in helping you by being prepared to call those three digits during an emergency.
“It’s very critical and serious. Seconds do count," Memphis Police Dispatcher Erica May said.
May has taken thousands of 911 calls and believes, based on those interactions, a refresher could be needed for some people when it comes to understanding a 911 call.
Last year, the dispatcher center, she said, took more than 600,000 calls to 911.
May said the most important thing a caller can establish first is their location.
"We get a lot of calls and someone immediately is someone is shot or someone is having a seizure or my car is totaled," May said. "Those are the kind of responses we get. Again, that’s understandable. They’re not trained."
May advises callers before that to give their exact address. If that's unknown, provide the intersection or say a visible business. That way the dispatcher can find the address of the business to find you.
"If you’re able to tell us the location, while you’re giving us all the details on what is happening, we’re able to go ahead and start help while you are on the phone with us," she said.
May said more than 90% of 911 calls come from cellphones. Often people think, that means dispatch can immediately ping their location. She said that's not necessarily the case.
"Due to what we see on television, what is portrayed, it happens like that and it is true a little. We do have technology such as rapid SOS and other technology that will give us your location - but again it gives us your general area of where you’re in," she said. "If you seriously need help, it’s best if you can verbally confirm that location and that will ensure that help gets to you as quick as possible.”
While no one can prepare for the distress of an emergency situation, May said one of the biggest hurdles to a getting help on the way is trying to calm a caller down. She said it's always best to hand the phone to someone else who is calm, if possible.
“The best thing a caller can do is know the address, know the location," she said. "Be calm, listen to the operator and give the information that is asked.”
People can also text 911 for an emergency. May said the service is being utilized by people. Last month, they received 4,000 texts for help.
Dispatch is currently hiring for 20 more dispatch positions.