Most people these days know that the first thing to do in an emergency is call 911 — but, that wasn’t always the case.
The 911 emergency system in Maricopa County is celebrating what is just its 30th anniversary. Before 1985, getting an emergency response started meant dialing separate seven-digit numbers for police and fire or medical assistance.
The Maricopa Association of Governments, which oversees the system, said there were 2.8 million calls answered by more than 1,000 people in Valley 911 centers last year.
When the system was first implemented, there were 1.8 million people in Maricopa County with access to 1.1 million telephone lines. Now those numbers are 4 million people and 4.25 million access lines.
Officials said 80 percent of the emergency calls now come from cellphones.