Professional, Committed, Trusted

Hood River County Sheriff's Office

911/Dispatch Center

Click any of the following links for more information              

 

Using Your Cell/Mobile Phone

to Call 9-1-1

 

Helpful Hints

 

Be ready to give the LOCATION OF THE EMERGENCY you are reporting - YOU MAY HAVE TO BE TRANSFERRED TO THE CORRECT

 9-1-1 CENTER

 

 DO NOT HANG UP UNLESS IT IS NOT SAFE FOR YOU TO STAY ON THE PHONE. Hanging up without providing enough information will delay the sending of emergency help.

 

Keep in mind that when dialing 911 from your cell-phone does not mean that you will reach the appropriate agency.  There are several cell towers in the area and depending on where you are at in the county you may reach a cell tower in Klickitat, Skamania or Wasco counties.  Should you reach a 911 center that is not for the area of your emergency please stay on the line and your call will be transferred to the correct 911 dispatch center. 

 

Cell and other wireless calls sometime transmit location information to the 9-1-1 call center. The information sometimes will provide the
GPS coordinates of the phone or will let us know the coordinates of the cell tower that the call was received on.  The goal in the future is to have all the calls provide the location of the caller.

 

ALWAYS BE READY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS. The 9-1-1 call taker /dispatcher will ask you a variety of information so they can provide the appropriate response from police, fire and medical.  As they receive the information from the caller, it is then relayed to the responding units.

 

In Summary:

 

Provide LOCATION of emergency, includes CITY and COUNTY if known.

 

EXPECT that you may need to be TRANSFERRED to the correct                        9-1-1 center.

 

Briefly DESCRIBE SITUATION

 

EXPECT more QUESTIONS (descriptions of vehicles and people).

 

DON'T HANG UP unless it is not safe to stay on the phone.

 

Remember - as a reporting party of a 9-1-1 emergency, you are an important partner with 9-1-1 and the dispatching team. We want to get help to you fast. We need your eyes and patience while we work with you. Thank you for your cooperation!

 

Don't Lock Up 9-1-1 - Lock Your Cell Pad

Did you know that one simple step would stop a problem plaguing

9-1-1 centers across the nation? Currently, 30% of all cellular 9-1-1 calls are unintentional.

 

Lock Your Keypad

With a simple step, you can help ensure that you won't be the one who ties up 9-1-1 unintentionally.  Placing a cellular phone in your pocket or purse without locking the keypad can dial 9-1-1.  These calls tie up 9-1-1 call takers while other valid emergency calls wait for help.  Please help your local 9-1-1 call center by locking your keypad.  You can still answer incoming calls with the keypad locked.

 

Non Activated Cell Phones

Most people do not realize that even some phones that are not active through a service can still call 911.  The 911 center receives many calls from children playing with old cell phones that still have power.

 

Any questions?? Call the Hood River County 911 Center

at (541) 386-2711