Howstuffworks "How 9-1-1 Works"

Howstuffworks "How 9-1-1 Works": "The idea for 9-1-1 first came about in 1957, when the National Association of Fire Chiefs wanted to establish a nationwide number for people to use to report fires. Over the next decade, various associations, recommendations and congressional debates determined that a single number for reporting all emergencies made more sense than having a different number for each type of emergency. It would be too hard to remember in an instant and so would defeat the purpose. The system's creators choose '9-1-1' for a few of reasons: It's short, it's easy to remember and it was not yet assigned as an area code or any other telephone-related number.

Haleyville, Alabama set up the first 9-1-1 system in the country in 1968. That same year, the second 9-1-1 service popped up in Nome, Alaska. To learn more about the history of 9-1-1, see Why was 911 chosen as the emergency phone number?."