ALABAMA – On February 16, 1968, Senator Rankin Fite completed the first 9-1-1 call made in the United States in Haleyville, Alabama. The serving telephone company was then Alabama Telephone Company. This Haleyville 9-1-1 system is still in operation today.
9-1-1 or the “Universal Emergency Number,” was proposed to be a nationwide telephone number service and gave citizens fast easy access to emergency services. It took over 10 years for the idea to come to fruition. The idea came from the National Association of Fire Chiefs recommended use of a single number for reporting fires in 1957. In 1967 the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended that a single number should be established for purpose of emergency situations… READ MORE
