When 911 Kills

GRASS ROOTS ANSWER TO PRESIDENT�S RESCUE CALL 
FOR FAILING 9-1-1 SYSTEM IS �CYBER-AID�


 Hailing President Clinton�s recent mandate to fix 
America�s 9-1-1 life-line, a contingency of emergency 
officials, businessmen and elected officials have joined 
forces on the Internet in an attempt to identify the 
�deadly glitches� in our country�s 9-1-1 systems.  The 
group has launched a new nation-wide clearing house for 
9-1-1 data on the World Wide Web called 911FORUM.

�An on-line forum for people to share and find 
information about what�s right and wrong with our 9-1-1 
system, can make a great contribution to public safety... I 
hope we hear from the grass roots all across the country 
to help ensure a trouble-free life line in every 
community,� said US Sen. Paul Wellstone. 

911FORUM, located at http://www.911forum.com through 
any Internet Web browser, creates a simple, 
easy-to-access information focus point for government, 
businesses and consumers to share actual issues 
involving America�s safety-net, the 9-1-1 emergency 
response system.

�We cannot do what we need to do on the issue of 
domestic violence unless we do something about the 
stunning fact that the 9-1-1 emergency number system 
today is completely overburdened,� said President Bill 
Clinton.

The president has called on the FCC and the US Attorney 
General�s office to take swift action to develop a 
complementary system to 9-1-1.  This new, 
non-emergency system would be used for all calls that 
are not life threatening yet still warrant a professional 
response from our nation�s police, fire and medical 
response teams.

�The President�s call to action is critical,� said 
Minnesota Attorney General Hubert H. Humphrey III.  �The 
911FORUM offers us immediate feedback as to how 
effectively we are completing our mission. But it will 
also help shine a national spotlight on other potential 
DEADLY GLITCHES within our 9-1-1 systems.�

40 million Americans are potential victims to another one 
of those DEADLY GLITCHES.

Anyone who dials an 8 or a 9 for an outside line is using a 
PBX business phone system.  That means high-rise office 
buildings, hospitals, hotels, shopping malls, and most of 
our nation�s school campuses are using this system.  Yet a 
DEADLY GLITCH in this system means calls to 9-1-1 from 
those locations, may place someone�s life in needless 
danger.

Since the break-up of AT&T, the ability to pinpoint the 
exact location of a caller using a PBX business phone 
system is often lost.  That recipe for disaster has lead to 
response crews going to the wrong location or, at the very 
least, losing precious moments in a frantic search for the 
exact location of the victim.

�Every day 40 Million Americans go to work, school, or 
even to shopping malls oblivious to the fact that if they 
dial 9-1-1 for help... their phone system could have a 
deadly potential for collapse,� said US Rep. Martin Sabo.  

�But fortunately we can fix the system with existing 
technology, and we can ensure that fix, if the 911FORUM 
helps prompt the FCC to take immediate action.�

The FCC has under consideration a pending rule that would 
mandate the compatibility of business PBX phone systems 
with the 9-1-1 network and remove the DEADLY GLITCH.  
Yet the FCC has been considering the rule for more than 
two years.

The 911FORUM offers immediate help!

If you are interested in ensuring a fix to any 9-1-1 
problem, surf your way to the 911FORUM.  Leave your 
comments at the site, or use the information you find 
there to contact the White House, the FCC Commissioners 
and other national, state and local officials.  Or call the 
911FORUM 800 line toll free at 1 (800) 722-9313.