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| By xJasonRogersx (Jason Rogers) - https://www.flickr.com |
The introduction of Britain's emergency 999 phone service 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 in February 1968.
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 in February 1968.
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