EVERETT — A new alternative to 911 launches Wednesday for all of Snohomish County.
The hotline, which is being called the “Non-Emergency Number,” is for times when people need a police officer or a firefighter, but the situation is not urgent.
Those instances might include a noise complaint about the neighbor’s dog, newly discovered graffiti or a kid down the street setting off illegal fireworks.
It’s not for chest pains, or if there’s a burglar in the house. Real emergencies still go to 911.
There are two non-emergency numbers now for different parts of the county, depending on which 911 dispatch center serves your area.
SNOPAC, the 911 center based in Everett, covers the city and areas north and east. That number is 425-407-3999. SNOCOM, the 911 center based in Mountlake Terrace, serves southwest county, including Snohomish County Fire District 1. Its number is 425-775-3000. A map also is available online at gismaps.snoco.org/non-emergency.
The hotline “empowers the public to make the decision if they know they don’t have an emergency,” SNOCOM director Terry Peterson said. “It empowers them to not tie up 911.”
Eventually, the two dispatch centers are expected to merge operations, but that’s likely to take awhile.
For decades, people have been told never to hesitate to call 911. Over time, the number of 911 calls — especially calls that aren’t true emergencies — has grown, and non-urgent calls are diverting resources from real emergencies, said Kurt Mills, director of SNOPAC.
Last year, SNOPAC received about 630,000 calls to 911. SNOCOM received 178,295. The new hotline was timed to precede the Fourth of July, which is typically the busiest day of the year for 911.
The same dispatchers are answering the hotline as 911 calls, but this way, they can better prioritize calls, Mills said.
During Fourth of July 2015, “there were times at peak periods where people with true emergencies were competing with those who were calling in with fireworks complaints,” Mills said. “While both are important, we want to make sure the people with true emergencies can get through faster.”
The hotline is not for general information, public records requests or for reporting power outages. Power outages generate hundreds of 911 calls during big storms, when people should be in contact with the Public Utility District, Mills said.
The announcement of the non-emergency number comes about a year after 911 texting was launched here, in a time when public safety agencies are adapting to new technologies and services.
Officials expect it to take a few years for the non-emergency hotline to take root.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
The hotline
The non-emergency number is for situations when someone needs a police officer or a firefighter but there is no immediate threat to life or property. Any immediate threat should prompt a call to 911. The hotline is manned around the clock by dispatchers who will prioritize calls.
In southwest Snohomish County, dial 425-775-3000. In the rest of Snohomish County, including Everett and areas north and east of the city, dial 425-407-3999. If you’re not sure which 911 area you live in, go to gismaps.snoco.org/non-emergency. Consider programming the number into your smart phone.
To report a power outage, contact the Snohomish County PUD at 425-783-1001, not 911.
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