Dialing 911 starts a series of events which moves very quickly to bring you the help you need.  When you call, a trained and certified tele-communicator at the 911 center answers your call on the first or second ring.  They will ask you what your emergency is, and immediately enter the call into a computer, along with your name, address, and phone number.  When the call is entered into the computer, it is simultaneously sent via a dedicated phone line to a computer at the Upper Dublin Police Department, where a police officer is dispatched. If you need the fire company or an ambulance, they are dispatched from the radio room in Eagleville, where all fire and ambulance companies in Montgomery County are dispatched from.

If you need the services of the fire company, the fire dispatcher activates pagers carried by all of our volunteers, and the sirens on the fire stations are activated. We are told what the nature of the calls is, and the location of the call.  Our volunteers then respond to the stations, put on their gear, get aboard the fire trucks, and respond to the scene.

Many times, people accidentally dial 911, or decide that they don’t need help and hang up the phone before talking to a tele-communicator.  If you accidentally dial 911, or don’t need an emergency service, stay on the line and tell the operator what happened.  You won’t be in any trouble, and there is no charge for dialing 911.  If you don’t speak to a tele-communicator, the police department will be dispatched to your location to verify that everything is all right.

Since 1993, 911 has vastly improved the safety of the residents of Upper Dublin by providing a very efficient means of calling for help and getting the needed help to you as quickly as possible.