Use regular phones not cell phones for emergency calls Monday, April 28, 2008

      Use of a regular “land line” telephone is preferred over a cell phone when calling in an emergency, Park Ridge Fire Chief Ed Dubowski notes, so whenever possible, please use a
regular phone for “911” calls. 
     There are a couple reasons to do so.  First, cell phone calls are routed through various towers for wireless communications and, thereby, an emergency call may be sent to a dispatch center which is not closest to the emergency location.  Additionally, the cell phone call may not be tracked.  If communication is lost (possibly due to the emergency situation), public safety personnel have no way to follow-up.
     On the other hand, regular phones are wired to the most expedient public safety answering point and the “911” dispatch centers get a call location immediately reported.  If there is any
problem with the call, or need for additional back-up, the required information is available.
     A recent incident confirmed the importance of using regular phones, Chief Dubowski said. There were no tragic consequences, however, it served as a reminder to promote the use of land lines for such calls.                              

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