When To Call 9-1-1

Call 9-1-1 anytime you have an EMERGENCY when police, fire or medical response is required immediately. Examples of 9-1-1 emergencies include fire, crimes in progress or that just occurred, or a medical crisis. A good rule of thumb is - when life or property is threatened or at immediate risk, or if there is a good chance that a criminal can be apprehended, call 9-1-1. If you are unsure how serious an incident is, do not hesitate to call 9-1-1. Assistance will be dispatched to the most critical calls first.

Check out this quick facts sheet “When Calling 9-1-1”.

Call precedence from highest to lowest:

• Threat to life
• Threat to property/property damage
• General Assistance

If in doubt, call 9-1-1. Better to be safe than sorry.

Never make a “test” call or “prank” call to 9-1-1. These calls tie up the phone lines and take Dispatchers time and attention away from taking care of real emergency situations.

Never call 9-1-1 and hang up. If you accidentally dial 9-1-1, do not hang up. Let the call taker know that you accidentally called. Otherwise, the call taker will attempt to call you back, and if unable to reach you, will trace the call (if necessary) and dispatch police to the location in an attempt to identify the emergency. This ensures that a caller who is incapacitated or unable to communicate with the call taker can receive help.

Contact your local utility provider for questions relating to or to report power outages.

To learn more about how we serve you, please explore our web site. If you have additional questions you may e-mail us at cresa@clark.wa.gov.