911 Emergency Services

The Great Falls Cascade County 9-1-1 Emergency Center serves the residents of Great Falls, Cascade County and the surrounding area. The Center dispatches emergency services for police, fire, medical, sheriff, rural fire, search and rescue, and quick response teams as needed. Dispatchers also relay requests for Mercy Flight, the local hospital helicopter, to respond to various incidents.

This center has been a collaborative effort between the City of Great Falls and Cascade County. The 9-1-1 Center is "enhanced", with the caller's name, address, and phone number automatically appearing on the dispatch screen. This can be beneficial for those situations in which the caller is unable to relay information or does not know the address they are calling from. This system expedites getting emergency units to the scene to render assistance.

The Great Falls 9-1-1 Dispatch Center receives over 140,000 calls each year. Combining location information with questions asked of the caller, the 9-1-1 dispatcher determines which emergency agency, or agencies, should respond to the scene. Over 95% of calls are dispatched within 90 seconds of being answered.

The men and women you speak to in the 9-1-1 Center have a tremendous responsibility of getting you help and their job can be very stressful. Prior to calling the 9-1-1 Center, you must first determine if the situation you observe or encounter is an immediate emergency. An emergency is when an immediate police response is necessary to save and protect life or property. Time is very important under such emergency conditions and can make the difference between life and death.

You should call the police any time and every time you suspect something is wrong or trouble is about to occur. 9-1-1 should not be dialed for non-emergency situations that do not involve or require immediate assistance. Although the use of 9-1-1 is for emergency use only, if you think there is an emergency occurring but don’t know for certain, assume it is an emergency and call 9-1-1.

Your job as a concerned citizen is to call the police and let us know when you think something is wrong or suspicious. If you call 9-1-1 for non-emergencies, someone with a real emergency might have a delay in receiving service. If an immediate police response is not needed, please call our non-emergency number at 771-1180.

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