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Sunday 4 January 2015

Emergency Service

Before "SOS" became a distress signal, “CQD" was used by telegraphers and wireless operators to address all stations at once in emergencies. Emergency service

Mayday is an international distress call used by ships and aircraft in radio communications. The Mayday procedure word was originated in 1923 by Frederick Stanley Mockford (1897–March 1, 1962), who was a senior radio officer at Croydon Airport in London. When asked to think of a word that could be used internationally to indicate distress and be easily understood by in an emergency, Mockford proposed "Mayday" an alliteration of the French "m’aider" in versez m’aider ("come and help me").

The emergency 999 phone service, the first of its kind in the world, was introduced to Britain on June 30, 1937.  It followed a two-year inquiry into the deaths of five women in a London fire in 1935.

This first emergency phone number initially only covered a radius of 12 miles.

The 999 number was chosen due to the ease of dialing it on phones at that time. Tory MP Sir Sidney Herbert had suggested a special emergency button on the handset instead, saying: "How can a lady with a burglar in the house remember to dial 999?"

At first the buzzer which alerted switchboard operators to a 999 emergency call was so loud that a number of girl operators fainted when they heard it. This problem was resolved by inserting a tennis ball in the mouth of the buzzer, which succeeded in reducing the noise to a more tolerable level.

The first 911 emergency telephone system in the US. went operational in Haleyville, Alabama on February 16, 1968.


The first-ever 9-1-1 call was placed by Alabama Speaker of the House Rankin Fite, from Haleyville City Hall, to U.S. Rep. Tom Bevill, at the city's police station.

In 1968, 9-1-1 became the national emergency number for the United States. The number itself, however, did not become widely known until the 1970s, and many municipalities did not have 9-1-1 service until well into the 1980s.

When Michael Jackson's car broke down once in Beverly Hills, he called 911 for help. He was advised to only use 911 in emergency situations. He was very surprised when they refused to assist him, even after he told them that he was Michael Jackson.

During a 1994 blackout in Los Angeles, 911 received a number of calls about a sinister looking cloud in the sky. It was the Milky Way.

In 1996, Baltimore adopted the first 311 system as a way to ease pressure on the overburdened 911 system. The new system freed up emergency phone lines and shortened wait times for emergency calls,

If you need to call 911, but are scared to because of someone in the room, you can dial the number and ask to order a pizza. When they ask you to confirm you know it is 911, you say yes. Continue ordering the pizza, ask how long before it's ready, they give you the ETA of nearest officer.

Wheelchair-bound man Gary Rosheisen tried to train his cat, Tommy, to dial 911 as he was suffering from mini strokes, but he wasn't sure if the orange-and-tan striped cat got it. But when he had a stroke, the police received a silent call from his house and went to find Tommy by the telephone and Rosheisen on the floor.

A 2-year-old girl in South Carolina called 911, asking for help getting dressed. Deputy Martha Lohnes showed up and pulled up her pants.

Contrary to the urban myth, dialing 999 does not charge mobile phone batteries.

In India, Israel and Greece, you must dial 100 to reach the police, not 911 or 999.

Japan’s 5pm bell, or national emergency broadcast system, that plays music each day at a specific time for over 90% of the country. The music is actually a daily test to ensure the system can inform residents of any major disasters (i.e. tsunami, industrial accident).

Source Daily Mail

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