Emergency Services

911 in Ontario is an intricate and complex system of Call Makers (you), Primary Service Answer Providers (PSAP)(initial call takers), and Regional or Central Dispatch Centers (secondary call takers).

When you make a call to 911 the PSAP will determine if you need Police, Fire, or Ambulance and reroute the call to the appropriate dispatch center for your area.

When using a hard wired telephone the operators could depend on ANI/ALI (automatic number indicator/automatic location indicator) and dispatch the proper agency without delay.

Modern technology may not always automatically download this information which may cause delays or ultimately “drop” the call. Traditionally, this system was not designed for mobile devices (cellular phones) or VoIP (voice over internet protocol) like Magic Jack or ComWave. Depending on the time of day or call volume, your cellular call may be transferred to another tower, which may or may not be in the same vicinity and could be miles away. In the event of a power failure VoIP may not work at all.

It is imperative that callers in these instances know the correct civic address, municipality, and even county for the incident or the closest intersection or cross street if reporting an accident and an alternate method of reporting an emergency.