When To Call 911
An emergency is any situation that requires immediate assistance from the police or fire department. Keep in mind that most all fire departments also provide emergency medical services. Edgewater Fire Rescue provides advanced life support (paramedic) services as well as transport to the hospital via one of our two ambulances.
Examples of an emergency include:
- Fire
- Crime in progress
- Car crash
- Medical emergency – such as an unconscious person, a person not breathing or struggling to breathe, a person with chest pain or signs of stroke, a person with uncontrolled breathing
It is important to remember that if you are unsure if a situation is an emergency, call 911. A trained dispatcher will determine if you need emergency help.
When you call 911, be prepared to answer the call taker’s questions. These may include:
- The location, including street address and city, of the emergency
- The phone number you are calling from
- The nature of the emergency
- Details about the emergency
Remember, the call taker’s questions are important to get the right kind of assistance to you quickly. Be prepared to follow any instructions the call taker gives you. In Volusia County, the call takers can provide step by step instructions to aid someone who is choking or needs CPR or first aid. Do not hang up until instructed to by the call taker.
If you call 911 by mistake or a child in your care calls 911 when no emergency exists, do not hang up. Hanging up could make dispatchers think that an emergency exists and send responders to your location. Instead, just explain to the call taker what happened.
In the event you feel like the situation you are encountering is not an emergency but assistance is still needed, the following is the non-emergency number for Edgewater Police Department and Edgewater Fire Rescue: 386-424-2000.
