Maricopa County’s 911 service celebrates 30th anniversary

PHOENIX — A quick-thinking grade-schooler calls 911 and saves a relative’s life or a frightened neighbor dials those numbers because a nearby house is on fire. Help often arrives within minutes.

We take it for granted now, but it was only 30 years ago that people in Maricopa County had to dial separate seven-digit numbers for police and fire/medical assistance.

Then, on Sept. 9, 1985, the county flipped the switch on its 911 service.

Liz Graeber answered some of those early calls. Now she is the 911 administrator for the city of Phoenix.

“It was so exciting when it went live, it was groundbreaking,” Graeber said. “I worked in Mesa and saw what it was like before 911 and after 911. It was scary at times. … There were many scary calls that I took.”

The idea for a universal emergency number originated in England in 1937 and was brought to the United States in 1967.

The implementation in Arizona was a long time coming.

In May 1983, Gov. Bruce Babbitt signed Senate Bill 1358, which formed the Emergency Telecommunications Service Revolving Fund (911 Fund).

Money had become available in 1981 for the system’s equipment — $4.8 million.

Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane chairs the Maricopa Association of Governments Regional Council and said there were 2.8 million calls answered in the region last year by more than 1,000 people in the centers.

According to statistics, 80 percent of 911 calls now come from cellphones.

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