Emergency on the Cornell campus? Beginning Sunday, Aug. 3, dial 911 from any campus phone for an emergency response. The number on campus to Cornell Police for non-emergencies is 5-1111.
Cornell University is adopting 911 for emergency response along with all of Tompkins County beginning Aug. 3. Callers will reach Cornell Police by dialing 911 from campus phones lines that start with the prefixes 253-, 254- or 255-.
There is no need to dial "9" first for an outside line. The keys "911" automatically will reach Cornell Police, who then will dispatch the appropriate emergency response personnel. Dispatchers will ask the caller to identify the location of the emergency. The blue light emergency telephones on campus also may be used in an emergency.
"The 911 system will improve emergency response time and provide better service for the Cornell community," said William G. Boice, Cornell Police director.
A 911 emergency is any situation that requires immediate police, fire or medical response to preserve life or property. It includes incidents such as fire, assault or immediate danger of assault, serious injury or illness, a crime in progress, a person choking, a fight, any incident involving weapons, a drowning, a chemical spill and so forth.
Cornell Police advise that 911 should be used for emergencies only. They ask that callers not use 911 to report things such as missing property, to inquire about weather or road conditions, to report a loud party or to report utility outages. In those and similar cases, callers on campus should contact Cornell Police at 5-1111 or an appropriate service representative.
Dialing 911 from a pay telephone or from a non-university telephone line also will reach emergency dispatchers, but those calls will go to Tompkins County dispatchers, not necessarily Cornell Police. In either case, the closest appropriate emergency units will respond to the call.
Remember: Beginning Aug. 3, dial 911 from any campus phone in an emergency.