Huntington Began 911 Service For AT&T 50 Years Ago

50 years ago Thursday, Huntington, Indiana, became the first American city to make and receive 9-1-1 calls as implemented by AT&T.  Congressman J. Edward Roush placed the first call from Indiana Bell Telephone Company to Fredric Dutt, a policeman at Huntington Police Department on March 1, 1968. Roush sponsored federal legislation for the new emergency service. Before 9-1-1, you had to dial “0” for the operator when you needed help.  About two weeks before the Huntington debut of 9-1-1, an independent phone company in Alabama was the first to offer 9-1-1 service in the United States.