When you call “911”, your call is routed to a Public Safety Answering Point, (when calling from your residence, it will be answered at Leonia Police Department) where a trained dispatcher will ask you a series of questions to determine what a assistance you need. Depending on your answers, the dispatcher may send the police, fire, ambulance, paramedics, Haz-mat or some combination of them.

Do NOT hang up until the dispatcher tells you it is OK to do so.

If the dispatcher gives you instructions, follow them carefully.

If you have pets, please put them in another room for the safety of the emergency responders and to ensure that the patient/victim does not experience a delay in treatment.

If possible, send someone to guide the emergency responders to the exact site of the emergency. Up to 3 different agencies (police, ambulance, paramedics) may respond and they will not arrive at the same time, so it may be best for someone to guide all 3 agencies in at the 3 separate times.

For a medical emergency or injury, police and an ambulance will be dispatched. The ambulance will be staffed with a minimum of 2 (two) New Jersey State Certified Emergency Medical Technicians (required by State law) who can provide basic life support (BLS). If your emergency is serious, paramedics from a local hospital will also be dispatched to provide advanced life support (ALS).

You will be transported to the nearest appropriate hospital. In most cases that will mean you will be transported to the local hospital of your choice. For serious trauma you will be transported to a Trauma Center, even if it means passing a closer hospital. This is to assure that you receive the level of treatment that is appropriate for your situation.

If the hospital of choice is on “bypass” (the Emergency Room is full and you may face a lengthy wait) or “divert” (the entire hospital is full and you may face a lengthy wait), the patient will be advised by the crew prior to departure, so if decided, a different hospital can be chosen.





The number “911” is the universal emergency number for everyone in the United States. In 2000, approximately 150 million calls were made to 911, according to the National Emergency Number Association (NENA). If you were born in the 1960’s or later, 911 was ingrained in you during your childhood, and those born prior to 1968 have been exposed enough to 911 that it has become second nature.

Prior to 1968, there was no standard emergency number. So how did 911 become one of the most recognizable numbers in the United States? Choosing 911 as the universal emergency number was not an arbitrary selection, but it wasn’t a difficult one either. In 1967, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) met with ATT to establish such an emergency number. They wanted a number that was short and easy to remember. More importantly, they needed a unique number, and since 911 had never been designated for an office code, area code or service code that was the number they chose.

Soon after, the U.S. Congress agreed to support 911 as the emergency number standard for the nation and passed legislation making911 the exclusive number for any emergency calling service. A central office was set up by the Bell System to develop the infrastructure for the system.

On February 16, 1968, Alabama Senator Rankin Fite made the first 911 call in the United States in Haleyville, Alabama. The Alabama Telephone Company carried the call. A week later, Nome, Alaska, implemented a 911 system. In 1973, the White House’s Office of Telecommunications issued a national statement supporting the use of 911 and pushed for the establishment of a Federal Information Center to assist government agencies in implementing the system.

After its initial acceptance in the late 1960s, 911 systems quickly spread across the country. By 1979, about 26 percent of the United States population had 911 services, and nine states had passed legislation for a statewide 911 system. Through the latter part of the 1970s, 911 services grew at a rate of 70 new local systems per year, according to the NENA. Approximately 50 percent of the U.S. population had 911 services by 1987. In 1999, about 93 percent of the U.S. population was covered by 911 services.