Maureen Will, the town's director of communications, said the Newtown Emergency Communications Center (NECC) on February 16 observed the 50th anniversary of the first Emergency 911 call being placed in the United States.

NECC is within Town Hall South, at 3 Main Street.

On February 16, 1968, Rankin Fite, an Alabama state official, made the first 911 call from the City Hall of Haleyville, Ala.

From that small beginning, 911 technology has become more sophisticated in response to consumer expectations, Ms Will said in a statement.

Each advancement has improved the nation's ability to get better, more reliable information to first responders, so they can do their job of saving lives and property, she added.

Enhanced 911 has been serving Connecticut since 1990, and all legacy E-911 equipment has been replaced with NG-911, which is an Internet Protocol system with state-of-the-art software and hardware.

Residents of Connecticut will soon have the ability to send text messages to 911 call centers, and in the future will have the ability to send images/video to 911 centers.

Ms Will said the NECC staff is proud to be a part of the 50th anniversary celebration and to serve the community.