As you may be aware, a fire occurred April 5th destroying a home in the 6600 block of Poplar Avenue. I am pleased to report the family was not physically injured, although recovering from such a loss will be difficult. Subsequent to the fire, discussion ensued about which county’s Emergency Call Center was reached by those initially reporting the fire.
On Tuesday evening, April 12, I visited several homes in the area. Residents were gracious and concerned enough to allow me to call 9-1-1 using their home phones. I am pleased to report that in every instance my calls went directly to the Montgomery County emergency center.
Using a cell phone, however, is a different story, and I understand several of the original calls were made this way. Given your proximity to the Prince George’s County line and cell towers, a call from a cell phone most likely will go to that county’s call center. Of course, dispatch will still be made but a brief amount of time may be used in the transfer of information.
This is why the Takoma Park Police have long encouraged anyone making an emergency call for police assistance from a cell phone to dial the TPPD dispatcher directly at 301.270.1100. We recommend that you program that number into your cell phone. For fire emergency calls, the Fire Department recommends always using 9-1-1- for emergencies, whether land line or cell phone, and engines will be dispatched no matter where the call originates or is received.
Fire departments are quite different from police agencies, which have jurisdictional boundaries. Firefighters respond regularly across county boundaries and it is not unusual to have teams from more than one station respond to a fire.
I hope this clarifies any questions you might have. The Department stands ready to assist you regarding crime prevention and safety information. If you haven’t had the opportunity, please meet with your sector specialist,
V Sector: Ofc. T. Smith 301/891-7101 ext. 5615 or tinas@takomagov.org.
W Sector: Ofc. C. Conrad, 301/891-7101 ext. 5682 Cconrad@takomagov.org
X Sector: Ofc. J. Butler, 301/891-7101 ext. 5629, Josephb@takomagov.org
COP Team Supervisor, Sgt. Kurt Gilbert, 301/891-7124, Kurtg@takomagov.org
If we can be of any service, please contact us.
Sincerely,
Cynthia A. Creamer
Chief of Police