Frequently Asked Questions | Life Threatening | Non-Life Threatening | Communications Center
Life Threatening Emergency Calls
- To call from any telephone in Hampton , listen for the dial tone and then dial 911 . A coin is not needed when a pay phone is used to make a 911 call.
- When you reach the 911 call taker, give the location from which you are calling. If the incident is at a different location, tell this to the call taker. Tell the call taker what the problem is.
- Stay calm. Do not hang up. Stay on the telephone until the call taker tells you to hang up. Avoid delays. If you hang up and call back, your call will go to the end of the line of other callers waiting for service.
When to Call 911
- When somebody is having a serious medical problem (chest pain, seizure, bleeding, etc.)
- When you need to report a fire (business, car or building)
- Any life threatening situations (fights, people with weapons, etc.)
Some Don'ts For 911
- Never program 911 into a memory location or speed dial. 911 is the one number you'll probably never forget, but when programmed into a phone memory, we get accidental calls from people who pushed the wrong button.
- Never make a test call to 911. These test calls occupy our Telecommunications Specialists time and they tie up the lines and equipment. The telephone company has designed the 911 network for high reliability, so it will work when you need it. False calls and test calls are a problem for us.
- Never call 911 and just hang up. We have an enhanced 911 system that provides both the calling telephone number and the location of the telephone. Our policy on a hang up call is to call back and attempt to verify if there is an emergency. If we cannot verify to our satisfaction that everything is all right, our policy is to send emergency response units to the indicated address. This is to ensure that a person who is incapacitated can receive help without having to talk on the phone. Unfortunately, many hang up calls are false, and we have wasted valuable manpower and resources to respond to them. False calls also tie up these resources which may be needed somewhere else in the city. The Communications Section monitors false calls, and when a pattern of abuse has developed, actions are taken to resolve the issue.
Cellular Phone Users
Currently in the Commonwealth of Virginia , if you make a 911 cellular call the dispatchers in the City from which you make the call will answer. If your call involves the Virginia State Police, the dispatcher will connect your call to the State Police Dispatcher. If your call requires City of Hampton services, the dispatcher that answers the phone will take your information. It is of the utmost importance that you make your location clear to the dispatcher. Unlike regular 911 calls, cellular 911 does not receive location information or caller information you must provide it in order to receive the assistance that you require.
Cellular callers can reach the Virginia State Police by dialing #77 or 424-6800.