Ingomar Volunteer Fire Company | Station 187

 

To report an emergency, dial 9-1-1. Your call will be promptly answered by the Allegheny County 9-1-1 center. The dispatchers there are specially trained to quickly relay information to the proper police, fire, and ambulance authorities, and may also be able to give you life-preserving or life-saving instructions until help arrives.

 

Dispatcher Taking an Emergency Call at the 9-1-1 Center

9-1-1 Dispatchers Are Specially Trained to Help You

A Dispatcher Sends Help

You Will Give and Receive Vital Information

When you call 9-1-1, the dispatcher will ask you for the following information:

  • The exact location of the emergency, either a street address or intersection, highway miler marker or exit number, or a common business name
  • Your call-back phone number, in case the call disconnects
  • The exact nature of the emergency being reported
  • Your name

 

Depending on the nature of the emergency you're reporting, the dispatcher may ask you more specific questions to better help emergency responders, or may give you instructions to help yourself or others around you. These "pre-arrival" questions and/or instructions are only given after help has been dispatched, and do not in any way delay an emergency response.

 

 

Other Pointers

  • It is important to stay calm, speak clearly, and remain on the line until the dispatcher instructs you to hang up.
  • 9-1-1 is a free call from public telephones, and is TDD- and TTY- compatible.
  • Do not dial an area code when dialing 9-1-1. Your call will be routed to the correct emergency dispatch center based on the location from which you dial
    9-1-1.
  • If you aren't certain whether or not your call concerns an emergency, you should err on the side of caution and dial 9-1-1.

 

 

Enhanced 9-1-1

Allegheny County's emergency dispatch center offers "Enhanced" 9-1-1 service. This means that a caller's location is displayed for a dispatcher. However, the dispatcher will always ask for the location (address, highway mile marker, business name, etc.) where the emergency is taking place. Here's why:

  • A caller may be reporting an emergency taking place at another location.
  • Calls made from cellular phones only provide an approximate location from which the phone call is made, and does not give an exact address, apartment number, business name, etc.
  • The enhanced 9-1-1 system does not display a caller's address when he/she uses a third-party calling service such as On-Star, medic-alert services, translation services, etc.

 

So if you dial 9-1-1, you should always be prepared for the dispatcher to ask where the emergency is taking place, and you should be ready to provide that location if you're physically able.

 

 

Reporting Non-Emergency Situations 

If you have a situation which you know not to be an emergency—barking dogs, parking problems, litterbugs, etc.— you can call the dispatch center's non-emergency number:

 

Non-Emergency:  412-473-3056

 

Administrative, business-oriented calls for fundraising information, billing information, and copies of reports may be made directly to police, fire, and ambulance administrative offices during normal business hours:

 

McCandless Police:  412-369-7992

 

Ingomar Volunteer Fire Company:  412-364-3571

 

Highland Volunteer Fireman's Association:  412-366-3473

 

Peebles District Volunteer Fire Company:  412-364-2112

 

McCandless Fire Marshal:  412-364-0616

 

McCandless-Franklin Park Ambulance Authority:  412-367-5883