ADA Best Practices Tool Kit for State and Local Governments

2. Types of Telephone Emergency Services Covered

All basic emergency services provided by public safety agencies are covered, including police, fire, and ambulance services. Direct, equal access must be provided to all services included in the system. An example of another emergency service covered is an emergency poison control information service.

Some emergency communications services use a two-tiered system to dispatch services. In these situations, a primary PSAP is the initial 9-1-1 answering point. It transfers calls to secondary PSAPs, such as fire or emergency medical services. In those transfer situations, PSAPs must understand how to correctly transfer TTY calls. Secondary PSAPs have the same responsibilities under the ADA as do primary PSAPs. They must be able to receive transferred TTY calls as efficiently and effectively as voice calls.