Oak Ridge emergency workers and dispatchers are urging the community to remember a potentially life-saving step when calling 911 from a cell phone: immediately state your location to the dispatcher.

“The Oak Ridge fire and police departments are working to share this important information after incidents involving cell signals were routed to the wrong 911 center, potentially delaying emergency response,” a press release said.

Emergency service organizations (fire, police, ambulance, and dispatch) and 911 callers have no control over which cell tower is used by an individual’s phone. If you are making a 911 call from your cell phone, you should always advise the dispatcher of the city and/or county you are calling from and your exact location, the press release said.

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