Rescue 911 (1989)
Rescue 911 is an informational reality-based television series that premiered on April 18, 1989 and ended on August 27, 1996. The series was hosted by William Shatner and featured reenactments of emergency situations that often involved calls to 9-1-1. Though never intended as a teaching tool, various viewers used the knowledge they obtained watching the show. Two specials, titled "100 Lives Saved" and "200 Lives Saved," were dedicated to these viewers who had written to CBS with their stories on how the knowledge they obtained watching the show allowed them to save the life of someone else. At least 350 lives have been saved as a result of what viewers learned from watching it. The show's popularity coincided with the widespread adoption of the 911 emergency system, replacing standalone police and fire numbers that would vary from municipality to municipality. The number is now universally understood in the United States and Canada to be the number dialed for emergency assistance nationwide. At its height, the show was adapted in 45 countries.
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Episode 1 - Episode 701
Release Date: 1995-09-12Plane loses power in the dark (March 28, 1995. Albany, New York); Teenagers in car t-boned by school bus (December 9, 1994. Upper Marlboro, Maryland); Drugstore robbery (December 9, 1994. Fresno, California); Girl trapped in plaster body cast (September 25, 1989. San Jose, California)
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Episode 2 - Episode 628
Release Date: 1996-02-01Pet python locks onto woman's arm (March 27, 1995. Milwaukee, Wisconsin); Bystanders discover man in cardiac arrest in parking garage (June 23, 1994. Wheaton, Illinois); Robber abducts employee from fast food restaurant (November 3, 1993. Parkersburg, West Virginia); Boy call 911 on cell phone when his mother passes out in the car (February 28, 1995. Deltona, Florida)
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Episode 3 - Episode 629
Release Date: 1996-02-08Teenager falls from cliff (April 26, 1994. Port Angeles, Washington); Teenage diver with the bends (July 28, 1991. Muncie, Indiana); Semi truck's container falls on car and knocks the driver unconscious (March 2, 1994. Turner Turnpike in Oklahoma); Iguana falls from tree into swimming pool (February 10, 1995. Beverly Hills, California)
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Episode 4 - Episode 707
Release Date: 1996-02-15State trooper and fiancée injured in head-on collision (Powhatan, Virginia); Man does rescue breathing on his wife when she has an asthma attack (February 27, 1995. Deerfield, New Hampshire); Car goes off road and crashes into whitewater river (June 14, 1995. Longmont, Colorado); Three children stuck at the top of a 60-foot high pine tree (June 23, 1995. Boynton Beach, Florida)
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Episode 5 - Episode 709
Release Date: 1996-02-22Police search for a missing transplant recipient when a donor kidney becomes available for her (June 24, 1995. San Francisco, California); Boy overcome by freon fumes drowns in fishing boat's refrigerated water system (June 20, 1993. New Jersey); Two officers on patrol wounded in shootout (July 30, 1992. Phoenix, Arizona); Girl gets tongue stuck in bottle (May 6, 1995. Clayton, North Carolina)
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Episode 6 - Episode 708
Release Date: 1996-02-29Blind woman in traffic accident; Scuba diver runs out of air; Suicidal man threatens to jump from bridge; last segment unknown
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Episode 7 - Episode 630
Release Date: 1996-03-07Boy severely cuts arm on window glass (May 2, 1994. Saint Paul, Minnesota); Man electrocuted while trying to fix dishwasher (August 15, 1994. Evanston, Wyoming); Beached humpback whale (November 1, 1993. Santa Barbara, California); Store manager gets fingers stuck in safe (March 8, 1995. Richmond, Virginia)
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Episode 8 - Episode 626
Release Date: 1996-03-28first segment unknown; Man has heat stroke while dirt biking in desert (July 10, 1994. Phoenix, Arizona); Teenage girl falls 200 feet down mountainside and waterfalls (February 26, 1994. Issaquah, Washington); Collie alerts family when baby stops breathing (June 19, 1993. Trotwood, Ohio)
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Episode 9 - Episode 712
Release Date: 1996-04-04Band member electrocuted by guitar (April 25, 1995. Lexington, Kentucky); other segments unknown
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Episode 10 - Episode 710
Release Date: 1996-04-11Irate man with bomb and gun takes hostages in library (March 5, 1994. Salt Lake City, Utah); Woman has premature baby in car (April 11, 1995. Cope, South Carolina); Couple on snowmobile falls into glacier fissure (June 21, 1991. Iceland); Pet lizard locks onto toddler's thumb (April 25, 1995. Quarryville, Pennsylvania)
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Episode 11 - Episode 913H
Release Date: 1996-04-23Fleeing suspect shoots police dog (January 20, 1995. Tucson, Arizona); Boy trapped under the dirt and root-span of a fallen tree stump (June 2, 1995. Franklinton, Louisiana)
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Episode 12 - Episode 627
Release Date: 1996-05-02Baby stops breathing in crowded parking garage (Saginaw, Michigan); Toddler alone in runaway car (January 21, 1995. Irvine, Kentucky); 13-year-old girl calls 911 when intruders break into her house (July 9, 1993. Surrey, British Columbia, Canada); Documentary follows premature baby's stay at the neo-natal intensive care unit at Children's Hospital (November 15, 1994. Akron, Ohio)
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Episode 13 - Episode 711
Release Date: 1996-08-06Couple injured in dune buggy crash (June 4, 1995. Stanford, Kentucky); Toddler stuck in pool filter (June 27, 1995. Sacramento, California); Para glider's parachute catches on tram line (June 6, 1994. Aspen, Colorado); Officer discovers abandoned baby while investigating domestic violence call (Spring 1994. Highland Township, Michigan)
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Episode 14 - Episode 713
Release Date: 1996-08-20Teenage boy pinned under tractor; First grader gets her finger stuck in desk (Bangor, Maine); Fleeing suspect shoots police dog (January 20, 1995. Tucson, Arizona); Boy trapped under the dirt and root-span of a fallen tree stump (June 2, 1995. Franklinton, Louisiana)
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Episode 15 - Episode 714
Release Date: 1996-08-27Boy stops school bus when the driver collapses (October 3, 1995. Saint Louis, Missouri); Four children hit by a car are treated at University Medical Center (July 6, 1995. Las Vegas, Nevada); Water-skier on kneeboard slams into trees (October 26, 1991. North Little Rock, Arkansas); Baby opens door and falls from moving pickup (April 15, 1995. Loves Park, Illinois); Boy collapses in snow while trying to walk home in sub-zero temperatures (January 18, 1994. Detroit, Michigan)