1.  State the nature of the emergency

2.  State your address or the location of the emergency, with the closest cross street.

3.  Give your name and telephone number.

4.  Remain on the line until the dispatcher tells you to hang up.

Click here for a printable version of these procedures.

 

Use 911 to report new emergencies.  Do not use 911 to inquire about a current situation or incident.  Doing so ties up the 911 phone lines, causing other 911 calls to be delayed.

 

911 IN NEVADA COUNTY

Federal law requires that all 911 calls be directed to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), which has to be a law enforcement agency.  In Nevada County, when you dial 911, you are connected to the Nevada County Sheriff's Department (residents within the city limits of Grass Valley are connected to the Grass Valley Police Department).

Once the 911 dispatcher is online, the caller can advise them of what their emergency is.  Any incidents requiring other than law enforcement assistance (i.e.: Medical Aids, Fires, Accidents, Hazardous, etc.), the 911 call is immediately transferred to the California Department of Forestry (CDF) Emergency Command Center in Grass Valley.

CDF Dispatchers Tony Peard and Chelsea Fox work together to guide fire and rescue
resources in to an injured hiker in the rural mountains Northeast of Nevada City.
Tony and Chelsea are also Paid Call Firefighters with NCCFD.

Photo by Loise Caulfield - The Union © Nevada County Publishing Company

Once the call is transferred to CDF, the dispatcher will gather information, including the nature and location of the emergency, your name and callback number, and any other helpful information.  Typically, after the information is gathered, the dispatcher will have the caller hang up the phone.  If you are in need of additional medical assistance (i.e.: performing CPR, control bleeding, etc.), CDF dispatchers are trained in Emergency Medical Dispatching, and they will remain on the line to assist you further.

CDF Fire Captain Mike Dimaggio gives medical instructions to an elderly man, whose wife has
stopped breathing.  CDF dispatcher are trained in Emergency Medical Dispatching, which
allows Captain DiMaggio to give the 911 caller step-by-step instructions on how to do CPR.

Typically, two or more dispatchers will monitor your call.  While one dispatcher is talking to the caller, the other dispatcher is dispatching the information into the computer system, which will advise which resources to send to the emergency.  This speeds up the dispatch process, which allows you to receive emergency assistance in minutes.