For the safety of Newfoundlanders and Labradoreans, NL911 would like to clarify how Emergency SOS for iPhone* works within the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. 

The Emergency SOS feature allows iPhone users who need emergency response, to press the lock button on their iPhone five times in a row and their phone will display an SOS button to swipe to contact emergency services. 

It has been advertised that this function will automatically notify the nearest police station with the callers GPS coordinates and an officer will be dispatched. Within the province of Newfoundland and Labrador the Emergency SOS service functionality is different. When using this method for contacting emergency services all callers will be directed to 911 for assistance, however the GPS coordinates and location of the caller will not automatically be provided to the 911 Call Taker. 

If you use the Emergency SOS feature within NL, you must stay on the line and advise the 911 Call Taker of your location. If you are unable to speak, then you must keep the line open and DO NOT HANG UP. The open line will allow the 911 Call Taker to hear that there is an emergency situation, trace the call to determine the location of the phone and then communicate with emergency responders who will dispatch help. 

It is important to understand that within the Emergency SOS functionality, there is an alarm that can sound and a countdown will start before the emergency call is initiated. This provides notice for those who may have accidentally called 911 an opportunity to cancel that call before it is initiated. For those who want to call discreetly, this alarm function can be disabled but those who disable this function need to know that they could accidentally call 911.

If at any time a call is accidentally dialed to 911, DO NOT HANG UP! It is important for the caller to stay on the line and advise the 911 Call Taker that there is no emergency.

*There are versions of the iPhone that this option is not available and iPhone users are encouraged to refer to Apple to get more information. There are also apps available for Android mobile phones that provide similar functionality.