History of Emergency Calling and 9-1-1

The first emergency telephone system began in 1937 in England, when the British started using "9-9-9" as their universal emergency telephone number. Belgium soon followed suit with "9-0-0". Other European countries followed the British lead soon after 1937.

Beginnings of an American Emergency Number
The impetus for a single, nationwide emergency telephone number did not gain momentum in the United States until 1957, when the National Association of Fire Chiefs began to advocate a single emergency telephone number for reporting fires.

In the late 1960's, the Presidents Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice recommended that a national emergency telephone number be established for reporting emergencies to the police. Subsequently, on January 12, 1968, American Telephone and Telegraph announced that the 3-digit number "9-1-1" would be made available for national use as an emergency telephone number.  Others issued a national policy statement supporting the nationwide adoption of "9-1-1" as the universal emergency telephone number in the United States.

On February 16, 1968, Senator Rankin Fite made the first 9-1-1 call that was placed in the United States. That historic telephone call was made in Haleyville, Alabama on a telephone line which was installed by Alabama Telephone, a subsidiary of Continental Telephone.   That 9-1-1 system is still in operation today.

One Nation One Number
In 1973, the Office of Telecommunications Policy, Executive Offices of the President, issued a national policy statement supporting 9-1-1, and encouraging its adoption by cities. By 1979, approximately 26 percent of the population of the United States had 9-1-1 service. Nine (9) different States had enacted 9-1-1 legislation, and the service was growing at a rate of 70 new systems each year. By 1987, approximately 50 percent of the population of the United States had access to 9-1-1 service.

By the early part of 1995, about 70 percent of the population of the United States had 9-1-1 service, with about 90% percent of that being "Enhanced 9-1-1" service. Those figures show that the old "Basic 9-1-1" service is quickly being phased out. Only about 35 percent of the geographic area of the United States had 9-1-1 service, however, which indicates that more people who live in a larger urban areas had access to 9-1-1 service than did people who live in small rural areas.

The Ultimate Goal
Although 9-1-1 service continues to spread throughout the United States at a rapid rate, it is still up to the State and local governments to adopt, plan for, and implement 9-1-1 systems. The Ultimate Goal is to have the accessible by 100 percent of the American people. .