THE INFORMATION HIGHWAYMAN
 presents:
"911"
The Town of McCandless, along with neighboring communities, has developed a call-taking and emergency-dispatching center known as Northwest Regional Communications.  All requests for emergency aid, whether by police, firefighters, or emergency medical personnel, should be made by dialing 911 from any telephone.  911 is a free call from public telephones, and it is TDD (Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf) compatible.  Although it is against the law to misuse 911, if you aren't certain whether or not your call concerns an emergency, you should err on the side of caution and dial 911.

When you call 911, the dispatcher will need to get some basic information from you, including:

• * the location of the emergency, including municipality

• * the telephone number at the emergency site

• * the exact nature of the emergency

• * the name of the caller
  It's important to stay calm, to speak clearly, and remain on the line until instructed to hang up.

If you have a situation which you know to not be an emergency--barking dogs, parking problems, litterbugs, etc.--you can call the the dispatch center's non-emergency number, 412.369.2200.  Routine or business-oriented calls to police administrative offices can be made by dialing 412.369.7992.

You do not need to dial an area code when dialing 911.  Whether you are in the 412 or 724 area code, your call will be properly routed to the dispatch center.

The address from which a 911 call is made will be displayed for the dispatcher, but since you may be calling from a location other than that of the actual emergency, the dispatcher  will ask you where the emergency is taking place--you should answer as specifically as possible, including house numbers, highway mile markers, or whatever will help the responders locate the emergency.

The Town of McCandless requires that house numbers be prominently displayed on all buildings within the town.  If you'd like to read the specific requirements, click here; but remember, those numbers will help the emergency responders reach you more quickly, so choose their design and display location carefully.

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