Author Topic: Contacting the Emergency Services  (Read 29424 times)

Lyle Brotherton

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Re: Contacting the Emergency Services
« Reply #45 on: June 22, 2013, 04:29:31 PM »
IMPORTANT REMINDER

Following the incident in the Glen (Glencoe) yesterday where a pair of walkers were airlifted from 2,000ft.

If you dial either 112 (or 999) to contact the Emergency Services and your phone latches onto another network to initiate the call, then the Emergency Services cannot call you back, nor for that matter can anybody else call you.

Your phone will only latch onto another network if it is unable to obtain a signal; from your Mobile Network Operator (MNOs are the firms who provide your service and you pay for calls/texts such as BT, Orange, Three and Vodafone).

The only way you can continue to get messages through to the emergency services is by either holding on the line, if you ask the ECC (Emergency Control Centre) operator to do this and explain why they will allow you to do so.

OR

If you are concerned about the phones battery life - remember making a call uses much more power than standby and talk-time is always significantly less – then explain to the ECC that you believe your call has latched onto another network and you will call back at an agreed time, for the reason that you can only redial using 112 (or 999).

Ask the ECC operator how they can get messages from you, this is because when you redial 112 you will, as always, first be put thru to BT’s OACs (Operator Assistance Centres) who then direct you thru to the ECC (Emergency Control Centre) of the Police, Fire & Rescue, Ambulance Service and in Coastal areas the Coastguard. Note: For Mountain Rescue you have to go through the Police
« Last Edit: June 23, 2013, 05:28:47 AM by Lyle Brotherton »
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boogyman

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Re: Contacting the Emergency Services
« Reply #46 on: June 22, 2013, 05:35:21 PM »
Thanks for pointing this out Lyle -- to be honest, I had not understood this from the earlier posts.

Is the following correct ?
1- Dial 112, and your mobile number may or may not be transferred (automatically) to the emergency services
2- Sending an SMS to 112 may or may not be supported
3- If supported, an SMS to 112 will transfer your mobile number (automatically) to the emergency services
4- The simplest rule is to always state your mobile number in your voicecall or in your SMS
5- Even if your mobile number is known to the emergency services, you might be unreachable for them
6- The simplest rule is to always check with the emergency services how a next contact can be established

Thanks,
Chris.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2013, 05:38:13 PM by boogyman »

Pete McK

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Re: Contacting the Emergency Services
« Reply #47 on: June 22, 2013, 05:38:00 PM »
Invaluable information Lyle, which is why your video now has over 90,000 hits in 4 months.

Here is the full report for the incident you refer to, it's an interesting story:

Rescuers warned against the reliance on mobile phones after two walkers were airlifted from a Highland mountain after getting lost in fading light.

The pair had difficulty getting a phone signal which meant the crew of the Royal Navy Sea King were faced with searching a large area of Glencoe.

A Royal Navy spokesperson said the two men, in their late 20s and early 30s and from France, got hopelessly lost 600m (2,000ft) up in the Three Sisters area.

The spokesperson said: “Weak or non-existent mobile signal meant that, by the time they had managed to alert police to their plight, it was almost 10pm on Wednesday.

“Thereafter, because of lack of signal in the mountains, rescuers still were unable to dial into the mobile phones of either of them, and the only way the pair could continue to communicate with the authorities was by using the 999 emergency number to get messages passed through.”

Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team was alerted and the crew from HMS Gannet in Ayrshire took off to join the search.

Initial information from the lost pair was sketchy and rescuers were simply told they were missing somewhere in Glencoe. A subsequent communication told them that they thought they were somewhere south of the A82 as they could see lights from the road.

The walkers got lost at dusk in the Three Sisters area of GlencoeThe walkers got lost at dusk in the Three Sisters area of GlencoeLieutenant Commander Andy Drodge, HMS Gannet’s commanding officer and the aircraft observer on the rescue, said: “It wasn’t a lot to go on and it’s a big area.

“We arrived in the area at 11.30pm and it was what you might describe as dark dusk.

“Fortunately, it was a relatively clear night and the two walkers did have torches which they shone when they heard the aircraft, so we located them almost instantly.

“One of them was on a reasonably substantial ledge and the other was in a much more precarious position about 50ft above him on a small rocky outcrop.

“I put down our winchman, Lieutenant Commander Rob Suckling, to pick up the higher one first and we got him into the aircraft.

“A very light southerly breeze caused us problems with downdrafting and we were pulling very high power to maintain our hover.

“The relief of the second walker was clear to see when he ran towards Rob as he went down on the wire to pick him up.

“He too was recovered to the helicopter once he had calmed down enough for the strop to be fitted over his head and under his arms.”

The Royal Navy said both grateful men were delivered safely to the base of the mountains into the care of the mountain rescue teams and police at 12.03am on Thursday, before the Sea King returned to its Ayrshire base at 12.50am.

Lt Cdr Drodge said: “Neither of the men was injured, but they were tired, anxious and starting to get quite cold.

“Although we did find them quickly on this occasion, they hadn’t told anyone where they were going and what time to expect their return. If they had, the fact that they hadn’t returned would have been enough to alert the authorities much earlier.

“They had assumed they could just use their phones – obviously, and very fortunately, they did eventually get through, but they lost themselves still further in the process and wasted a lot of time, by which time we were well into the depths of night.

“Admittedly high summer is not the worst time to be stuck out on the hills, but, even at this time of year, there is a noticeable drop off in temperature at night, combined with altitude and the fact that walkers tend to be wearing more lightweight clothing, it is not ideal.

“While it can do no harm to have your mobile with you wherever you are, the remoteness of many of Scotland’s mountains means that you cannot rely on it necessarily if you get into trouble.

“As ever we would always recommend that walkers, regardless of how experienced they are, ensure that someone is aware of their planned movements for the day, as well as their predicted return time.”
 

Lyle Brotherton

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Re: Contacting the Emergency Services
« Reply #48 on: June 23, 2013, 06:13:54 AM »
Hi Boogyman

Voice calls
If your mobile phone does not have a signal from your MNO (Mobile Network Operator) your mobile phone will automatically enter what is called as a Limited Service State, where the mobile phone camps-on another mobile network for voice emergency calls.

So let’s say that for you in Belgium your MNO is Proximus and you cannot get a signal and therefore cannot make an ordinary call. By dialling 112 on your phone it will use a signal from BASE or Mobistar or ANY OTHER mobile phone signal that is available.

When you get thru to the ECC (Emergency Control Centre) operator follow their instructions, they are exceptionally well trained and use a format of questioning to gather the maximum amount of information from you in the minimum amount of time. At the end of your call you should then ask them how you can contact them again

Emergency SMS texts
Unlike 112 voice calls these can ONLY be sent thru your MNO, so again if your MNO in Belgium is Proximus and you cannot get a signal your text will not be sent. When it is sent it will always display to the Emergency services your mobile number, irrespective of whether you have typed it not the message or not.

.
« Last Edit: June 23, 2013, 06:17:03 AM by Lyle Brotherton »
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boogyman

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Re: Contacting the Emergency Services
« Reply #49 on: June 23, 2013, 08:01:08 AM »
Thanks for the reply Lyle. By the way, my MNO is indeed Proximus.

Cheers,
Chris.

Callum

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Re: Contacting the Emergency Services
« Reply #50 on: June 24, 2013, 07:42:12 AM »
Re-reading through this thread I am pretty sure you said somewhere that the limited state service works on all GSM networks, am I right?

Lyle Brotherton

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Re: Contacting the Emergency Services
« Reply #51 on: June 24, 2013, 07:45:19 AM »
Quote 'This is very important, as GSM the most used standard for mobile phones globally (80% of the global mobile market) covering 5 billion people across more than 200 countries and territories'. So Yep Cal  ;)
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Peterh

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Re: Contacting the Emergency Services
« Reply #52 on: September 25, 2013, 11:26:30 AM »
Hi, Lyle!
 I have been reading all the threads and appreciate the time you and others have taken to make sure people have got this clear into their gray matter. So here is my contribution, word for word.
 
 I text "register" to "112" @ 10:00 and at 10:58, I received the following;
 
 "After reading all this message, SEND THE WORD  'YES' TO 999 TO COMPLETE YOUR REGISTRATION - otherwise your phone isn't registered. In an emergency, you will know your message has been received ONLY when you get a reply from an emergency service; until then try other methods. Full details, Terms & conditions are available at www.emergencysms.orguk "

And then @ 11:01:
 "Your telephone number is registered with the emergency SMS Service. Please don't reply to this message.
 For more information go to http:emergencySMS.org.uk"

 I know I'm late to this thread but it may help another late comer (newby) such as myself...
 My regards to you Lyle and all the helpful commentators on this thread! peter

 Update: I did the same procedure with the wife's mobile when I got home @17:00 and it completed the whole process within 30 seconds. Amazing!!
« Last Edit: September 25, 2013, 10:36:32 PM by Peter H »

Lyle Brotherton

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Re: Contacting the Emergency Services
« Reply #53 on: September 25, 2013, 11:35:12 AM »
Great to welcome you aboard Pete H.

Thank you for posting this, it is really helpful.

The SMSRelay service’s standardised reply texts only refer to 999 however, dialling 112 works in exactly the same way and should be the number of choice to use for both SMS text messaging and telephone the Emergency Services from a mobile phone.

Hope this helps clarify the position :)
“Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance” - Plato

Pete McK

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Re: Contacting the Emergency Services
« Reply #54 on: September 25, 2013, 03:46:18 PM »
I was speaking to a friend who now works for Ofcom and he believes that we (UK) are planning to switch to 112, in accordance with a European Directive, within the next few years. Searched the net but found nothing, anyone else know about this?

Lyle Brotherton

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Re: Contacting the Emergency Services
« Reply #55 on: December 20, 2013, 12:11:14 PM »
I can confirm that this is certainly a proposal under discussion Pete. WHEN, in my opinion, and not IF, the change takes place the two numbers will have to work in a parallel for decades because these emergency numbers are taught to us at a very early age and I know when people are highly stressed they fall back on that basic learning. 
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Lyle Brotherton

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Re: Contacting the Emergency Services
« Reply #56 on: March 03, 2014, 09:23:14 AM »
The technologies to improve the location reporting of calls the made from a mobile (cellular) phone to PSAPs (Public Safety Answering Points, these are the US equivalent of our Operator Assistance Centres) continues to move at a pace in America, with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) latest developments with their E911 programme.

There is a significant trend of people replacing landlines in homes and businesses with wireless phones, something I have personally done, and calling patterns are changing. 70%+ of emergency calls initiated from a mobile phone and around 80% of them are made indoors, where the phone’s satnav signal reception, used to identify the caller’s location, is less reliable

The current regulations oblige all MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) to pinpoint a caller’s location for a given percentage of calls, recognising that in some instances, this is simply not possible with current technology – mobile phone’s in-built satnavs only works if it have a clear view of the sky, so indoors it becomes much less accurate due to blocked, attenuated, and reflected signals or does not work at all.

The E911 regulations also take account of the technological capabilities of the individual MNO.

MNOs that have the technology which can use individual mobile phones in-built satnav positioning technology are required to identify an emergency caller’s location within 50-150 metres if the call is made outside.

MNOs that do not have this technology and instead use network-based technology, which is generally less accurate because it employs Cell-ID, angle-of-arrival and time-difference-of-arrival to triangulate location, the regulations state the caller’s location must be within 100-300 metres.

The implementation of these rules has been patchy, where MNOs comply it works well, however many MNOs have failed to meet the criteria set, so the FCC is changing its approach, both in enforcement and in the technologies to be employed.

Given the meteoric growth in the geographic availability of wireless connectivity of mobile phones, especially Wi-Fi,  the FCC propose to compel all MNOs to  take advantage of this. Specifically, the rules will define horizontal and vertical accuracy which would narrow down the locations of callers to within a particular building and a specific floor.

America already leads the world in specifying the location accuracy of calls made to the emergency services and this new legislation will put them way out in front.
“Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance” - Plato

captain paranoia

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Re: Contacting the Emergency Services
« Reply #57 on: March 03, 2014, 12:50:15 PM »
> Given the meteoric growth in the geographic availability of wireless connectivity of mobile phones, especially Wi-Fi,

As you know, most smart phones will use WiFi signals to create a position fix.  Even with the GNSS receiver in my Hudl turned off, it will place me almost perfectly within the building at work.

I'm not sure of the technical details of how this is done; maybe I need to ask around, or do a bit of research.  It may be using registered addresses of home hubs (and IP addresses), and some signal strength analysis.  Not sure about the implications for privacy, but I guess the RIPE database is public domain...

krenaud

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Location positioning without GPS
« Reply #58 on: March 03, 2014, 06:51:46 PM »
Apple and Google continuously receive data about the locations of cell tranceivers from the operators and they complement this information with GPS/Cell/Wifi data reported by phones owned by users who have enabled "send anonymous usage data". RIPE IP databases are probably used as a compliment which explains why status updates on Facebook sometimes have very strange locations.

Google also use data collected by their Google Maps mapping crews.