In North America, you can call 911 to get to emergency services. Once your call is answered, you must quickly state why you are calling or what the nature of your emergency is (fire, robbery, kidnapping, accident, etc.). This enables the operator to take the right action within a few seconds.
In California, cell phone calls to 911 are traditionally routed through California Highway Patrol located in Vallejo. A fact that is less known is that many cities handle these calls on their own. This post covers a list of cities that have backup numbers to 911 in South Bay Area. You can call these numbers directly to reach to the city’s emergency services. It is a good idea to store these numbers on your phone. At the same time if you are in a life threatening emergency and are unable to retrieve these numbers on your phone (it takes a few extra seconds) just dial 911.
Name of City | Backup Numbers | Name of City | Backup Numbers |
Campbell | 408 378 8161 | Cupertino | 408 299 2311 |
Gilroy | 408 846 0300 | Fremont | 510 790 6800 |
Los Altos | 650 947 2779 | Los Altos Hills | 408 299 2311 |
Los Gatos | 408 354 8600 | Santa Cruz | 831 471 1131 |
Menlo Park | 650 325 4424 | Saratoga | 408 299 2311 |
Milpitas | 408 263 1212 | Unincorporated | 408 299 2311 |
Morgan Hill | 408 779 2101 | ||
Mountain View | 650 903 6922 | ||
San Jose | 408 277 8911 | ||
Palo Alto | 650 321 4433 | ||
Redwood City | 650 780 7100 | ||
Santa Clara | 408 296 2236 | ||
Sunnyvale | 408 736 6244 | ||
Union City | 510 471 1365 |