911 Calls for Suspected Overdose in Franklin County
A person in active addiction or who has experienced an overdose might come into contact with health systems or social service agencies in many different ways. One of the most common ways in which overdoses are reported, however, is through 911 calls to public safety agencies. When a person sees what they know or believe to be an overdose, a call to 911 will dispatch the appropriate police, fire, and EMS agencies to the incident location, where staff can determine whether an overdose has occurred and how best to respond.
When someone calls 911 in Franklin County, their call is brought to the relevant 911 dispatch center. These centers collect a wide variety of data on the call, and classify calls under broad categories, such as "public suspicion of overdose" or "suspected drug overdose" to determine what response is needed. Through data sharing agreements with Franklin County Sheriff's Office and Columbus Division of Fire, Franklin County Public Health has collected records on all 911 dispatches for suspected overdose in Franklin County.
Additional information about 911 calls for suspected overdose
The data on this page shows information on all 911 calls for suspected overdose in Franklin County received by the Columbus Fire Department and Franklin County Sheriff's Office since April 1, 2019. This includes trends in the number of calls over time, as well as information on the known ZIP codes from which suspected overdose calls have originated. This data does not include all Franklin County 911 dispatch centers, but the two agencies represented do cover approximately 80% of the population in Franklin County. It is important to note that this data does not show the final outcome of a call. This data does not show whether a suspected overdose was truly an overdose, or what the outcome of a valid call might have been. With that in mind, this data serves best as an "early warning," reflecting the degree of public concern about potential overdoses within Franklin County.