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Study: Many would use social media to call 911 in Fla.

Recent Red Cross study found 44% of people would use social media to call for help if they couldn’t dial 911

By CBS News

MIAMI, Fla. — “What’s the location of your emergency please?” asked an emergency dispatcher. When the 9-1-1 center got a call from someone across the country alerting them to a local fire, they were puzzled.

“My caller is actually in Indiana,” declared Dispatcher #1. At a fire station in another state came this reply. “Okay.”

Dispatcher #1 continued. “My caller was playing online and someone posted that he was disabled and his stove was on fire and he couldn’t get out.” Firefighters didn’t brush it off as a prank. Instead they suited up, jumped in the truck and raced to the address where they found smoke pouring out of the windows.

Full Story: Using social media to call 9-1-1