0003829147@mcimail.com (Sander J. Rabinowitz) (10/08/90)
There have recently been concerns expressed over the last several days
over the ability of using COCOTs to access emergency-911 service.
However, not all communities have access to 911 service, and in these
cases, I would speculate the situation becomes more difficult. The
COCOT may be pre-programmed (one would hope) to immediately connect
you to 911, but would it be possible to program the COCOT to allow
access to one or more local-style phone numbers for emergency
purposes? (Or is it so inflexible that to bypass one number, you have
to bypass an entire exchange?)
FOR EXAMPLE: Until last year, if one wanted emergency assistance in
Farmington Hills, Mich., one had to dial xxx-x911, which was normally
a local call. One day about two years ago, I witnessed a
near-accident involving a stalled vehicle that was blocking part of a
very busy road. I pulled over to the gas station pay phone, and
dialed xxx-x911, only to receive a recording that the call required 20
cents. I didn't have any change. (This, incidentally, involved a
GENUINE telephone co. pay phone.)
So I dialed the operator, and requested that I be connected to the
Farmington Hills police, and immediately cited their telephone number.
The operator refused, and while I forgot her exact reasons for the
refusal ("not a real emergency number," I think), she repeatedly asked
me to hang up and dial 911 (which at the time didn't work -- it
connected the caller to a neighboring city's P.D.). When I asked to
speak to her supervisor, she finally connected me to the number.
Thankfully, this was not a situation where seconds counted -- but what
if it WAS? I wasted about 60 seconds arguing with the operator (and I
would have wasted a lot more time if I had to place the call through
my calling card). But the trouble is there's no way of knowing if
there's a problem until you have to make that emergency call.
Since then: 911 is now available here, so that's no longer a problem.
But if you're ever in a community where 911 isn't available, and you
had to place an emergency call through a pay phone, you'd better hope
that you have change or a calling card, or prey that you get an
operator who is better informed of the situation.
Note: In this message, x's represent numbers deleted by this writer.
The First Amendment and all relevant disclaimers apply.
Sander J. Rabinowitz | 0003829147@mcimail.com | +1 313 478 6358
Farmington Hills, Mich. | --OR-- sjr@mcimail.com | --> 8-) <--
[Moderator's Note: If the COCOT owner can program the phone so that
some three digit code (typically 611) rings the answering service
where he picks up messages of complaint about his phones (most are
programmed to do this), then he should be able to program the phone to
have 911 ring some seven digit number for the police in the event 911
is not available. Of course, you'd think telco could do the same in
their CO, and intercept calls to 911, re-routing them to the
appropriate seven digit number for that exchange. After all, that is
much how 911 works anyway in some communities. For example here in
Chicago, 312-787-0000 is one of the numbers translated into by 911 for
folks on the near north side of the city. Dial that number and you
will get Chicago Emergency just as surely as via 911, the difference
being the former leaves the dispatcher with a blank read-out; they
assume the Bell operator put the call through and forgot to stay on
the line to pass the number orally to the dispatcher. PAT]