April is National 911 Awareness Month, while the week of April 8 - April 14 marks National Public Safety Telecommunicators week. These people are the first line of communication during any emergency. The Officers and Members of the Skippack Fire Company truly appreciate everything our Montgomery County Communications Center staff does. Thank you for your dedication and commitment you put forward every day keeping our community and us safe.

9-1-1 Services

The number 9-1-1 is the number most people in the U.S., and some internationally, call to get help in a police, fire, or medical emergency. A 9-1-1 call over dedicated phone lines in Montgomery County goes to the 9-1-1 answering point within the county that is closest to the caller, and trained personnel then send the emergency help needed. When using a cellular phone to call 9-1-1, be aware that if you are near the border of Montgomery County and your call hits a cellular tower in a neighboring county, your call will be routed to that county's Emergency Communications Center. When giving the location, be sure to say "I'm calling from Montgomery County." That way, if your call ended up in a neighboring county, they can transfer you quickly so that help can get to you quicker.


Calling 9-1-1

9-1-1 should be used in any situation that requires immediate assistance from the police, the fire department or an ambulance. If you are ever in doubt of whether a situation is an emergency, you should call 9-1-1. It's better to be safe and let the 9-1-1 call taker determine if you need emergency assistance.

Never say "nine eleven," since there is no 11 on the telephone keypad. Always say "nine one one."
Always call 9-1-1 from a safe place. If there is a fire in the house, get out first, then call 9-1-1. If there is an intruder in the house, hide or get out to call 9-1-1 from a safe place.
Know your address – have it posted near the telephone.
Rural residents should post directions to their house.
Never call 9-1-1 as a prank or joke. You could get into trouble, your parents could get into trouble, and you could keep someone who really needs help from getting it.
9-1-1 is for people, not animals. If you have a problem with a pet, you should call your veterinarian.
If you are not sure if you have an emergency, call 9-1-1 and explain your problem to the 9-1-1 call taker.
If you call 9-1-1 by accident, please don’t hang up. When the call taker answers, explain that you called 9-1-1 by mistake and that you do not have an emergency.
Text-to-911

On July 20, 2015 the Montgomery County Commissioners announced that wireless phone customers have the ability to send short text messages to 9-1-1 in an emergency. At this time, Text-to-911 is only available to subscribers of AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile.

Text-to-911 may be most helpful in these emergency situations:

By individuals who have speech or hearing impairments, or who are having a medical emergency that renders them incapable of speech;
Or in instances when making noise may endanger the caller, such as a home invasion/robbery, or instances of domestic violence or an abduction.
Call if you Can, Text if you Can't!

For more information on 911 visit: https://www.montcopa.org/133/Emergency-Communication