“Don’t test 911, don’t call it to see if it works; we know it works.”

So half-joked Dennis Berry, the assistant deputy minister of protective services, as he drove home the central tenet of the Yukon’s new, territory-wide 911 service: Only dial it in the event of an emergency.

As of today, 911 can be used to report an emergency from a landline or cellphone service area anywhere in the territory.

Justice Minister Brad Cathers made the announcement this morning from the EMS ambulance station in Riverdale on behalf of the Yukon government.

“Providing Yukon citizens with the ability to contact emergency services quickly and easily is ... a priority for us,” said Cathers.

“That is why we we committed to expanding 911 service to all Yukon communities a few years ago.”

Today, the government made the long-awaited service a reality.

“While we may never know whose life or home are saved because of it, there is no doubt that Yukon-wide 911 service will make a huge difference to some of our fellow Yukoners,” said Cathers.

The government relocated its 911 dispatch office from the RCMP detachment in Whitehorse to a new and larger emergency response centre at the top of Two Mile Hill last February.

This was done with the aim of expanding 911 service to the whole territory by the summer.

To connect the service to all the communities was “quite complex,” said Paul Flaherty, Northwestel Inc.’s CEO and president .

It required the combined efforts of Northwestel, the government, and fire, EMS and RCMP officials.

Berry said it took “a huge initiative” over the last year to get the emergency response number up and running in the communities.

“The last six months we’ve been going out and testing every circuit, every phone in every community to make sure the system would operate,” he said.

Fire, EMS and RCMP officials too had to test the communications system using their radios.

The number has been operational for testing purposes since July 11.

Today, it went live.

Flaherty called the expanded service “a very important milestone for the Yukon.

“People within the Yukon, both residents and visitors, now have access to easier, faster access to police, fire and ambulance,” he said.

The three-digit number that is synonymous with emergency response across North America will not only benefit rural Yukoners.

It will also be also be useful for tourists who may be unfamiliar with local emergency phone numbers.

Flaherty noted that the availability of 911 is especially important in the summers, when there is a spike in visitors to the territory.

Basic 911 service has been available in Whitehorse and within an 80-kilometer radius of the city since 1995.

The RCMP have taken 911 calls on behalf of the Yukon government since the service was introduced, and will continue to do so with the expanded service, said RCMP Supt. Brian Jones, the “M” Division’s acting commander.

He acknowledged that in communities that have not used 911 until now, it will “likely take some time to get used to which number to call” in an emergency situation.

“Traditionally, residents of these communities have dialed a local number to reach police,” he said. “These numbers are ingrained in the minds of many and those numbers remain active.”

Rural residents can still use those numbers to reach police in their communities, confirmed Jones, but if there is an emergency, they should now call 911.

Cathers acknowledged that the territory continues to rely heavily on volunteers to provide emergency fire and medical services in the communities. He also took stock of the services provided by rural nursing stations and RCMP detachments.

The territory-wide 911 service is basic, meaning the operator isn’t automatically provided with the caller’s phone number or address.

For this reason, it is critically important that Yukoners make their home address visible from the street or at the bottom of their driveways, said Jim Regimbal, president of the Association of Yukon Fire Chiefs.

“Having 911 in place – an easier, universal number – it still doesn’t get these vehicles outside the station any quicker, or us to the scene quicker,” said Regimbal, who is Dawson City’s fire chief.

“So we have to know where you live. If we don’t know where you are, we’re not going to be able to get to you.”

As with 911 systems elsewhere in the country, the operator will ask the caller what community she is phoning from and the type of assistance she needs: fire, police and/or emergency medical services.

The operator will then transfer the caller to the appropriate emergency response agency nearest the caller.

“A number of communities prepared for 911 service by improving civic addressing,” said Michael Riseborough, the Association of Yukon Communities’ first vice-president.

For more information about the new emergency response number, Yukoners are encouraged to visit 911yukon.ca