911: Fr Fr, When DO You Hit Up The Emergency Hotline? 🤔🚨

The 411 on 911

Yo, let's get one thing straight: 911 ain't your personal hotline for every little thing that bugs you. Dispatchers in Owen Sound got like, 68,000 calls in 2024. That's 184 calls a day, and a whole 6,000 were straight-up unanswerable. Like, bruh, wyd?

A new campaign called "When Every Second Counts" is trying to educate the public about using 911 properly. Think about it: if you're calling about a noise complaint, you're holding up the line for someone who might be having a legit medical emergency or witnessing a crime. That's a major L for everyone involved.

So, when DO you call 911?

• Medical emergencies (chest pain, shortness of breath, sudden vision issues)
• Fires (duh)
• Crimes in progress (robbery, assault, etc.)
• Serious car crashes (with injuries)
• Severe burns, vomiting with blood, high fever, confusion, severe headaches, abdominal pain, rapid breathing or heart rate
• Head injuries with loss of consciousness, seizures, symptoms of a stroke, broken large bones, and uncontrolled bleeding

And when do you NOT call 911?

• Minor car crashes (no injuries)
• Noise complaints
• Bylaw violations (your neighbor's trash cans are overflowing? Call someone else)
• Non-emergent medical concerns (call your doctor, fam)
• General police inquiries (Google is your friend)

Also, quick PSA: If you accidentally dial 911, DO NOT HANG UP. Stay on the line and tell the operator it was a mistake. Hanging up makes them think something's wrong, and they'll have to call you back, wasting even more time.

For non-emergency police stuff, hit up 519-376-1234. Let's keep 911 clear for the real MVPs: EMS providers, who are celebrated during EMS Week in the last full week of May. They're out here saving lives, so let's not make their jobs harder, aight?