If you are on the phone and hear “9-1-1, what is your emergency?” the correct answer is never going to be “I don’t have an emergency, but…” As the weather warms up and school lets out, misuse of the 9-1-1 emergency number increases, tying up the phone lines and preventing attention to real emergencies.

“If you know it is not an emergency, then you should be looking up phone numbers or calling Information,” said local dispatcher Zoe Middleton. “Remember you are tying up an emergency line when someone with a true emergency may be trying to call us.”

She said an emergency is an event in progress requiring immediate attention of medical, fire or law enforcement professionals. Examples include a heart attack, serious injury, fire, car accident or burglary in progress.

However, there are plenty of times when 9-1-1 should not be called. A person should think about whether or not there is an immediate danger. If a few extra minutes won’t make a difference, 9-1-1 is the wrong number to use. For example, it is usually inappropriate to call 9-1-1 for information, a ride to an appointment or for an officer to come “scare” a little child into doing their chores.

The remainder of this article is at The Dallas Chonicle