Think about it. In this case a scheduled power outage, but some are unplanned.
The smoke alarms start beeping, there are three small children in the house, and not a single line-powered phone to dial 9-1-1.
Hot pipe with no thermostatic fan switch was outgassing. Kids were fine, treated mom for hyperventilation.
Have to wonder how many of us are so gadgeted that we don't have a line-powered phone, though. Good thing she finally found her cell phone in the dark.
What does it matter? In the case of a real fire, why would someone stay in the house to dial 911 anyway?
What does it matter? In the case of a real fire, why would someone stay in the house to dial 911 anyway?
Maybe you would want to call 911 if you were on one end of the house and the fire was on the other, or you were upstairs and the fire was downstair and you were trapped. Or maybe you would be calling on your way out, or calling from your portable phone from the yard after all were safe. Not too many would be so stoic as to not use all possible avenues to save their home. Desperation to save your stuff, I guess.
Besides, no one said there was a fire. The post said "power outage" which can come from a million different sources. Just ask the people on the SW coast that have been flooded and hurricaned to death.
Robert
It matters if it's a medical emergency, or, as in this case, the nearest place is 3/4 of a mile away through knee-deep snow.
I meant to encourage others to evaluate their situation.
This is SO true, I never realized it until we had a power failure. Even though it was a PF due to traffic accident, I was not able to call out of the house. Damn technology!, THat was years ago when the phone were 900 MGHZ, Now we have a 5.8 mghz BUT there is a direct line phone up in the master bedroom. Anything could happen Medical, fire, police, you need to be prepared for whatever may occur to protect your loved ones and your house. Yes, now we all have cell phone but what if the battery was dead ?
Searcher
There will always be those who live for surprises (and by surprises as well). A few years ago I was talking to a buddy who only had cordless phones in the house and his battery was sinking fast as we spoke. The next weekend, I found one of my old corded warriors that had been replaced and donated it to the cause. Trying to find corded phones in the discount stores is a challenge. Cordless with and without answering machines are in the majority.
Wed, Jan 11, 2006, 9:37am George@least (George) who is lost in the dark: Have to wonder how many of us are so gadgeted that we don't have a line-powered phone, though. Good thing she finally found her cell phone in the dark.
Huh. I wouldn't have anything BUT a land line phone. However, I do also have a wireless hooked in, that my sister gave me several years ago. I sometimes grab that when I go to the hopper, if I'm expecting a call. Don' got no steenkin' cell phone.
But, what I DO have is, one battery flashlight I can find in pitch dark. AND, one hand crank flashlight (no batteries to go dead) I can find in pitch dark. PLUS, candles, AND matches, in two separate locations, that I can find in pitch dark. I also have a super-nine I can find in pitch dark. I AM considering getting a cell phone, to carry driving, just-in-case the truck has problems on the road - but it ain't a high priority.
JOAT You'll never get anywhere if you believe what you "hear". What do you "know"?
- Granny Weatherwax
Was clued in by a local police lieutenant that the county 911 system will automatically display map locations of the caller to emergency personnel (fire, police, ambulance) for calls from a line-powered phone but not from a cell phone.
David Merrill
I just joined this thread late, but I wanted to make you all aware and WARN you about these new "internet telephones" that Time Warner and Vonage are pushing with their flat rate North America calling plans. Not only do you need house power to make these phones run, but your high speed cable network also needs to be working properly or your phone won't work. To add to this, several of these "internet" telephone networks have been put into service with no 911 call handling capability, or if they do handle the 911 call, the operator who answers the call has no idea where the call is coming from so they can't send you help if you aren't in condition to tell them where you are. Before you switch to one of these, make certain that a 911 call will work correctly over it and it will be routed to your local 911 operator. A
911 operator half way across the country from you won't be of much help to you.On the plus side, I have several friends who have installed internet telephone services and my conversations with them over these connections have been exceptionally clear and trouble free.
With the technology of GPS enabled cell phones, 911 services can pinpoint your location, as long as your GPS in activated in your phone. Which, by the way could have been used to rescue an infant but Sprint refused to activate the phone that was in the stolen vehicle with the child. The child was recovered unharmed BUT if Sprint would have activated the phone it would have been sooner. However the outcome could have been much worse. My cell is GPS enabled and is activated, I spend a great deal of time in the outdoors and if an emergency were to arise, lets say I could dial but a cougar had me by the throat and I couldn't talk. at least that way someone would still find my body! Technology is good but it does have its downfalls. A hardwired land line is a good choice.
Searcher
Not sure how out-of-date the dispatch agency is, but as indicated, the new GPS types display a set of crosshairs on the console, which is as good as ALI (automatic location information) provided by the phone company. Especially in this age of transferable numbers.
Even the old analog phones come with information - the tower which handled the call. Not much, but they're on their way out.
Someone else mentioned generator power at the cell site. A lot have it for the radio, but still trunk the call on a landline vulnerable to interruption. Doesn't mean much.
The George entity posted thusly:
Good point. Perhaps it's because I write firmware/software for telephone accessories that I have been aware of this for many years. I use a Nortstar key system for most calling, but that line-powered phone is always hooked up to the line, and situated where I can easily find it in full darkness.
Just an fyi...Vonage has a 911 producure that you have to follow when you sign up. It basically registeres your number w/ your address so the the 911 operator will know where to route the emergency response.
Troll or moron. Choose wisely.
I was working late at night when a hand slit the screen window in my home office and reached in looking for the latch.
My kids were in one bedroom and my wife in the other. You bet your bippy I dialed 911 ... then reached for my baseball bat to wait for the guy to stick his head through the window.
Bill
We have land lines (one is cordless, the others line powered) and a cell phone. The big fires here in SoCal a couple years ago, burned most of the cell towers and a lot of phone/power lines. We were evacuated for about ten days and returned as soon as we were allowed (no damage hallelujah). The land line gave us a dial tone and the gas water heater gave us hot water for Maggy's bath. :-) The cable system was down since the building housing it burned to the ground, but the satellite was there (once I got the generator up and running). There is one gas station in a nearby town that runs continuously on generation power once Edison goes into the toilet. Hence all is well here in paradise. mahalo, jo4hn
Two things make me more nervous about the future than all other factors combined - electricity and water.
Technology has allowed man to live more than one day away from a natural water source, and to type about that fact ... something unheard of in most of human history.
Ayup, and I live about 100 feet from a lake... sigh, jo4hn
"Charley" wrote in news:Mycxf.11713$ snipped-for-privacy@tornado.southeast.rr.com:
From what I've read on a couple news sites, the FCC intends to make 911 access a non-issue for VoIP phones. You can be pretty certain by the end of the decade 911 calls will be handled properly.
One more thought: A database of local emergency numbers for 911 operators could make getting help from halfway across the country possible. They look up the local number of whoever's needed and pass on your location information. (I think that's how AAA handles their roadside assistance calls.)
Puckdropper
I am using Sunrocket IP-based phone service and a major requirement (and why I had not gone with Vonage earlier) was acceptable 911 service. With Sunrocket, when you dial 911, your call goes to the PSAP (Public Safety Access Point), which is the same place it goes for service from your favorite ILEC or CLEC. I had previously had my phone service through Comcast, so I figured if the cable was down, my phone was down anyway, so no real difference there.
todd
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