9-1-1 Celebrates 50 years

Posted 2/16/18 (Fri)

Bismarck, ND – The North Dakota Association of Counties (NDACo) today announced its celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the first 9-1-1 call.

On February 16, 1968, Alabama Speaker of the House, Mr. Rankin Fite, made the first 9-1-1 call from the Haleyville City Hall in Haleyville, Alabama. From that small beginning, 9-1-1 technology has become more sophisticated in response to consumer expectations. Each advancement has improved our nation’s ability to get better, more reliable information to first responders so they can do their job of saving lives and property.

Annually there are in excess of 230,000 9-1-1 calls received throughout the state. In recognizing this important anniversary, NDACo would like to acknowledge the men and women that serve in our state’s 9-1-1 centers and who deliver emergency response services each and every day.

One of the latest advancements in 9-1-1 technology has been a migration from analog communications to digital communications. The public’s adoption of new forms of communications and smartphone “apps” placed new stresses on the 9-1-1 system used for the past 30 years. To address these challenges, North Dakota has upgraded all of its analog 9-1-1 circuits in the state with new digital ones. This upgrade will ensure that the system can handle both voice 9-1-1 calls and other forms of media and data that will emerge over time.

One of the new forms of media that was recently made available to the public and ND’s 9-1-1 centers was the short message service (SMS), commonly known as “text.” In October of 2016, ND became one of a handful of states to make text-to-911 service publicly available across the state. In 2017, approximately 140 calls using text messaging were sent to 9-1-1 in North Dakota.

“In one example, a female texted 9-1-1 because her ex-boyfriend was at her residence threatening her and refusing to leave, her infant was also home. The man choked her and pushed her. She went to the bathroom so she could text for help,” said Next Generation Manager Jason Horning. “We received similar stories from other public safety answering points on how texting to 9-1-1 has aided victims. In these cases, texting gives a victim the option to text instead of call for help in a safe manner which has made a difference in bad situations.”

For more information check out: 911.nd.gov