FOR THE APPROACH TO BE SUCCESSFUL, THE 911 SYSTEM MUST BE UNIVERSALLY ADOPTED, AND ALL 911 CALLS FOR A GIVEN TELEPHONE EXCHANGE MUST TERMINATE IN ONE PLACE. THE 911 NUMBER SHOULD BE PROMOTED AS A SECONDARY EMERGENCY NUMBER, EMPHASIZING THE EXISTING 7-DIGIT NUMBERS AS A FASTER, MORE DIRECT WAY OF CALLING AN EMERGENCY AGENCY. THE PROPOSED METHODS OF IMPLEMENTING THE 911 CONCEPT IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY ARE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW 911 REFERRAL AGENCY WHERE ALL CALLS WOULD BE RECEIVED, TERMINATED, AND THE MESSAGES RELAYED BY THE NEW 911 EMERGENCY AGENCY; DESIGNATION OF A PRIME EXISTING EMERGENCY AGENCY TO RECEIVE THE CALLS; COMPLETE REARRANGEMENT OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM WHEREBY A CENTRAL DISPATCHING AGENCY WOULD BE SET UP TO RECEIVE AND HANDLE ALL EMERGENCY SITUATIONS OF THE TWO SERVICES, BOTH POLICE AND FIRE. UNIFORM, NATIONWIDE FIRE REPORTING AND POLICE REPORTING TELEPHONE NUMBERS WOULD PROVIDE SENSIBLE TOOLS FOR EMERGENCIES AND PROVIDE A POSITIVE METHOD OF IMPROVING PUBLIC SAFETY. (MJW)