911 FAQs
The City of Midland Public Safety Communications Center is the Public Safety Answering Point for Midland County, known as the PSAP.
Q: When do I dial 9-1-1? What is an emergency?
A: Emergency is defined as a situation where life and/or property is in immediate danger. Please call 9-1-1 to report situations such as traffic accidents with injuries, any medical emergency, burglaries to vehicles, residences, businesses or robberies occurring now or just occurred (defined as "in-progress"), domestic violence, any situation involving a weapon, etc. If you are in doubt, call 9-1-1. If it is not an emergency, the 9-1-1 dispatcher will give you the non-emergency number to the police, fire or sheriff's department. This allows the 9-1-1 lines to stay open for emergencies.
Q: What if I dial 9-1-1 by mistake? A. DON'T HANG UP !
A: Tell the 9-1-1 operator what happened: you were dialing long distance, the automatic dialer button was accidentally pushed, etc. If you hang up we must re-contact you to make sure everything is ok. If your telephone line is busy or we don't get an answer we will send a Police Officer or a Sheriff's Deputy (if you live outside Midland city limits) to your residence to make sure everything is ok.
Q: What if I am calling from a cellular phone?
A: GIVE THE DISPATCHER YOUR LOCATION
Midland PSAP can receive cellular phone calls from 17 surrounding counties. At this time the Enhanced 9-1-1 ANI/ALI (Automatic Number Identifier/Automatic Location Identifier) system is unable to give the locations of cellular calls. After you tell us what type of response you are needing, please give us a location: the name of the city, a mile marker on the interstate highway, a highway name, etc. so we will transfer you to the correct responding agency. Please do not hang up, we will stay on the line with you until the transfer is completed.
Q: What questions will the dispatcher ask me when I call 9-1-1?
A: WHERE? WHAT? WHEN? WHO? WHY? HOW? WEAPONS?
Dispatchers ask a standard set of questions to prioritize your call and determine the response you need. AFTER THE DISPATCHER VERIFIES THE LOCATION WITH YOU, A RESPONSE IS ALREADY ON THE WAY TO YOU!. The dispatcher knows the address you are calling from, but does not know the address where you need help sent to until you verify that address. You must then answer the additional questions to further help the law enforcement officers, the fire department or the paramedics. The dispatcher relays the pertinent information by radio to the responding units prior to their arrival at the scene. This increases the chances of survival of a medical patient or injured person or the prevention of a crime and/or the apprehension of a suspect.
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