When someone dials 911, most people assume first responders automatically know where they are. That assumption could be deadly wrong.
Kevin Kito learned this harsh reality after spending 20 years in the enhanced 911 industry. As President of 911 Secure, he sees the dangerous gaps that exist in emergency response systems every day. The problem is more widespread than most people realize.
“If you dial 911 from behind a phone system, the location information that the 911 operator gets is based on wherever the main billing telephone number is located,” Kevin explained during a recent episode.
This routing failure creates cascading delays when seconds matter most. Kevin described a customer in Boston with sites across the United States and Canada. Without proper solutions in place, someone calling 911 from Southern California would reach a Boston 911 center. The operator cannot simply transfer the call to the correct jurisdiction. Instead, they tell the caller to hang up and find another phone to make a new 911 call.
The shift to remote work after Covid made this problem exponentially worse. Companies that once had a handful of remote workers suddenly had thousands of employees working from home with soft phones on laptops. Each of these workers needs accurate location reporting for emergency calls.
Cell phone calls present an even bigger challenge. For decades, the industry response was always the same when customers asked about cell phone 911 calls. “Sorry, there’s nothing we can do,” Kevin said. That limitation forced security teams to rely on manual processes and hope first responders could find the right location on sprawling campuses.
Now 911 Secure can alert on-site security within seconds when someone makes a cell phone 911 call on campus, complete with location data and confidence radius.
Ian Cole, Chief Innovation Officer at Give Kids the World, experienced this transformation firsthand. The 89-acre fairy tale village in Florida hosts critically ill children and their families for week-long vacations. With up to 1,000 guests on campus and winding roads that make navigation challenging, precise emergency response is crucial.
“These families have some pretty significant things that they’re working through,” Ian said. “Sometimes a 911 call is an unfortunate kid playing with the phone, but sometimes they do need first responders.”
The solution maps the entire property into zones and automatically routes emergency information to the correct gate for fastest response. On-site staff receive immediate alerts and can escort first responders directly to the emergency location.
The technology works so quickly it seems like magic. During testing, Kevin watched their alert system trigger before the 911 operator even answered the phone. “Halfway through the first ring, our beacon popped up,” he said. “Even before the 911 operator answered the phone, my head about exploded.”
Organizations across every industry face these same vulnerabilities. Schools, hospitals, corporate campuses, and retail facilities all struggle with the same fundamental problem. When someone calls 911 from a cell phone, security teams often learn about the emergency only when first responders knock on their door.
The solution exists today, but awareness remains the biggest barrier. At a recent conference, Kevin approached a college security officer about getting alerts for cell phone 911 calls. The officer responded, “Wouldn’t that be nice,” assuming it was impossible. Even after Kevin explained the technology was real and available, the officer remained skeptical.
This gap between expectation and reality creates unnecessary risk. People naturally assume 911 systems work seamlessly, but the infrastructure often fails to deliver on those expectations. Closing this safety gap requires both technology solutions and organizational commitment to emergency preparedness.