Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
EMERGENCY: 9-1-1
(Sound-color video; 22 minutes)
Through a series of dramatic reenactments, Emergency: 911 explores the 911 network and explains how people can use it properly to save life and property. A fiery accident and an attempted robbery show how the dispatcher is the heart of the network. In response to a call, he or she can send the right kind of help in seconds.
Another reenactment shows how the 911 system is accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. Two Spanish-speaking children summon help for their brother when he goes into insulin shock. They call a 911 dispatcher who connects them to the Language Line, a translation service.
The video also shows that children can call 911 when they are frightened and an adult isn't around to help. This incident shows how Enhanced 911 systems are able to identify a call with a specific address. Enhanced 911 enables emergency teams to find callers who don't know their address. It also makes it possible to trace illegal prank calls.
The video ends with an exciting sequence that shows how the 911 system can provide help even in wilderness areas. In response to a call from a cellular phone, a highly trained team of volunteers brings a fallen mountain climber back to safety.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
educational presentation
EMERGENCY: 9-1-1
(Sound-color video; 22 minutes)
Through a series of dramatic reenactments, Emergency: 911 explores the 911 network and explains how people can use it properly to save life and property. A fiery accident and an attempted robbery show how the dispatcher is the heart of the network. In response to a call, he or she can send the right kind of help in seconds.
Another reenactment shows how the 911 system is accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. Two Spanish-speaking children summon help for their brother when he goes into insulin shock. They call a 911 dispatcher who connects them to the Language Line, a translation service.
The video also shows that children can call 911 when they are frightened and an adult isn't around to help. This incident shows how Enhanced 911 systems are able to identify a call with a specific address. Enhanced 911 enables emergency teams to find callers who don't know their address. It also makes it possible to trace illegal prank calls.
The video ends with an exciting sequence that shows how the 911 system can provide help even in wilderness areas. In response to a call from a cellular phone, a highly trained team of volunteers brings a fallen mountain climber back to safety.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
educational presentation
