Ventura County Sheriff's Department

Unit Responsible: Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services

On July 6, 2009 damage to a fiber-optic cable affected many Ventura County residents’ ability to call for help in the event of an emergency. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services is continuing its commitment to community disaster preparedness by educating residents on how to report an emergency if such an incident were to occur again in our county.

1. To report an emergency, dial 9-1-1 to be connected to an emergency dispatcher. 9-1-1 lines are reserved for emergency calls to report a crime in progress, a fire, or to request an ambulance. Using 9-1-1 for non-emergency calls may delay the arrival of help for people caught in real emergencies. If you are unable to call 9-1-1 from your landline phone, try calling from a cellular phone.

2. If you are unable to reach an emergency dispatcher by dialing 9-1-1, call the seven-digit telephone number of the agency you are trying to reach. Please refer to your local telephone directory for a list of the local seven-digit police and fire telephone numbers.

3. If you are unable to use the telephone, please go to your nearest police or fire station to report an emergency. Knowing where your local police and fire stations are located is an excellent way to be prepared for any emergency.

When unexpected natural or man-made emergencies occur, our greatest defense is individual preparedness. For more information of how to prepare, please visit the County of Ventura website at www.countyofventura.org and click on the Disaster Information link. This website will display current information in the event an emergency, educate residents on the hazards in our area, and provide a resource on how to prepare, respond and recover from a disaster in our area.