County Commission | The Magazine October 2018 | Page 28

FROM THE COVER
50 Years of 9-1-1 Service
S
pecial events celebrating the 50th
anniversary of 9-1-1 have been going
on throughout the country all year, and
the Alabama Association of 9-1-1 Districts
(AAND) made sure there was recognition
during the recent ACCA convention.
After all, the first 9-1-1 call was dialed
on a rotary phone in Alabama.
During the ACCA Awards Ceremony,
AAND President Gordon Sandlin gave
a brief history and presented a special
commemorative coin to representatives of
Winston County, the birthplace of 9-1-1.
“On Feb. 16, 1968, the country’s very
first 9-1-1 call was made right here in the
great state of Alabama. Rankin Fite, who
was the speaker of the Alabama House
of Representatives at the time, placed the
first ceremonial 9-1-1 call while sitting in
the office of then-Haleyville mayor, James
Whitt,” Sandlin said. “Just a few yards
up the block was Congressman Tom Bevill
sitting at the police station, where
he answered that phone call with a
simple ‘hello.’”
Until that time, citizens had to dial
a full-length phone number to reach any
kind of emergency services. Callers had
to sort out for themselves what kind of
help they needed, and they also had to
guess what agency had jurisdiction. Did
they need a municipal police officer or a
county deputy?
The idea was revolutionary: a single,
easy-to-remember phone number that
would reach any kind of first responder.
It began as a race between the
Alabama Telephone Company and
AT&T to start America’s first 9-1-1
system, explained Sandlin, Cullman
County’s 9-1-1 director. “Fifty years
later, it has expanded to a nationwide
system that is continuously improving
to keep up with rapidly changing
technology,” he said. “And it all began
in a little town in Winston County,
Alabama.” n
28 | OCTOBER 2018
The first 9-1-1 call in the country occurred exactly 50 years ago in Winston County, Ala. In honor of
that anniversary, the Alabama Association of 9-1-1 Districts made a special presentation to County
Commission Chairman Roger Hayes (right) and Tim Webb, director of the Winston County E 9-1-1
Communications District.