Rescue 911

Overview

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 911.

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 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.

Episodes

S01E01 Episode 101

September 5, 1989 60 min
Boy swept away in flooded arroyo (June 10, 1988. Albuquerque, New Mexico); Skydiver is knocked unconscious (April 18, 1987. Coolidge, Arizona); Robber takes grocery store employee hostage (August 1, 1987. Elkhart, Indiana); Documentary of New...

S01E02 Episode 102

September 12, 1989 60 min
Construction workers trapped upside-down in collapsed cherry picker; Mother must perform CPR on her baby (May 16, 1988. Xenia, Ohio); Toddlers play on tracks as train approaches (May 1, 1989. Ramsey, New Jersey); Teenage car...

S01E03 Episode 103

September 19, 1989 60 min
High school football player goes into cardiac arrest (November 7, 1986. Springdale, Arkansas); Helicopter rescue of a hiker who fell from a cliff (July 1, 1989. Los Angeles, California); Prospector trapped underwater by boulder (Red...

S01E04 Episode 104

September 26, 1989 60 min
Bystander attempts to rescue two women trapped in a submerged car (Elkhart, Indiana); Woman stabbed by intruder (October 16, 1988. Lansing, Michigan); Rafter caught in dam's undertow (May 24, 1989. Hamilton, Ohio); Documentary of three...

S01E05 Episode 105

October 3, 1989 60 min
Toddler falls into narrow hole (April 24, 1986. Colts Neck, New Jersey); Helicopter pilot attempts to locate a kidney recipient before the donor kidney expires (March 25, 1989. Glamis, California); Children burned in propane explosion...

S01E06 Episode 106

October 10, 1989 60 min

S01E07 Episode 107

October 17, 1989 60 min
Spelunker trapped in flooded cave (July 1, 1985. Spring Mill State Park, Indiana); San Francisco neonatal hospital documentary (March 1989. San Francisco, California); A family is robbed at home (February 12, 1989. San Dimas, California);...

S01E08 Episode 108

October 20, 1989 60 min

S01E09 Episode 109

October 27, 1989 60 min

S01E10 Episode 110

November 7, 1989 60 min
Funny car explodes (July 22, 1989. Denver, Colorado); Helicopter pilots use infrered device to track burglary suspect (July 18, 1989. Fort Worth, Texas); Teenager on motorcycle falls off cliff (August 16, 1989. Amarillo, Texas); Elderly...

S01E11 Episode 111

November 14, 1989 60 min
Woman hides from intruders (September. Los Angeles, California); Aerovac documentary-Helicopter picks up victims of a head on collision and a girl kicked in the face by a horse (Phoenix, Arizona); Car accident with downed power...

S01E12 Episode 112

November 28, 1989 60 min
Woman outsmarts her assailant (May 5, 1989. Tucson, Arizona); Dispatcher's husband has heart attack (July 1, 1989. Kingwood, Texas); Cocaine user hijacks ambulance and takes four paramedics hostage (October 18, 1985. West Windsor, New Jersey);...

S01E13 Episode 113

December 12, 1989 60 min
Woman shot by mentally ill brother (July 20, 1989. Dallas, Texas); New Years Eve fire at a Puerto Rico hotel (December 31, 1986. San Juan, Puerto Rico); Boy performs Heimlich maneuver on choking bother (April...

S01E14 Episode 114

December 19, 1989 60 min
Seattle Cop Shooting: Police officer is shot, good samaritans aid in the chase (May 15, 1989. Seattle, Washington); Carbon Monoxide Save: elderly couple are overcome by Carbon Monoxide fumes (November 6, 1988. Skokie, Illinois); Santa...

S01E15 Episode 115

January 2, 1990 60 min
Dynamite explodes in construction worker's hand (August 17, 1989. Western Washington); Ex-convicts rob a winery (September 1988. Brookfield/New Milford, Connecticut)

S01E16 Episode 116

January 9, 1990 60 min

S01E17 Episode 117

January 19, 1990 60 min

S01E18 Episode 118

January 26, 1990 60 min

S01E19 Episode 119

February 8, 1990 60 min

S01E20 Episode 120

February 27, 1990 60 min
Fighter pilot crashes into runway at air show (April 24, 1988. El Toro, California); Documentary of the Charles Stuart murder case (October 23, 1989. Boston, Massachusetts); Man has heart attack while driving car (February 14,...

S01E21 Episode 121

February 28, 1990 60 min

S01E22 Episode 122

March 10, 1990 60 min

S01E23 Episode 123

March 17, 1990 60 min

S01E24 Episode 124

March 27, 1990 60 min
Intruder in a deaf mother's house (October 25, 1989. Chattanooga,Tennessee); Lumberjack pinned between logs (August 10, 1989. Bellingham, Washington); Racer trapped in submerged speedboat (August 12, 1989. St. Louis, Missouri); Documentary of a New Orleans...

S01E25 Episode 125

April 3, 1990 60 min
Elderly man shot outside his home (October 24, 1989. Taft, Florida); Toddler drowns in pool (September 24, 1989. Claremont, California); Climbers stranded on Mt. Whitney (July 25, 1987. Mount Whitney); Paramedics pick up elderly women...

S01E26 Episode 126

April 10, 1990 60 min
Parrot alerts sleeping family of gas leak (September 23, 1983. East Boston, Massachusetts); Boy's clothes catch fire (October 30, 1988. Pasadena, Texas); Fishing boat sinks, leaving three men adrift at sea (October 16, 1989. Bradenton,...

S01E27 Episode 127

April 23, 1990 60 min

S01E28 Episode 128

April 28, 1990 60 min

S01E29 Episode 129 (Best of Season One)

May 8, 1990 60 min
This special episode re-aired some the first season's best stories: Police officer stops runaway boxcars pushing automobile down train tracks (October 3, 1985. Northville, Michigan); Husband must deliver wife's baby (September 3, 1989. Huntington Beach,...

S01E30 Episode 130

May 15, 1990 60 min
Girl accidentally stabs brother (December 1989. Atlanta, Georgia); Prisoners escape by taking four paramedics and prison personnel hostage (April 13, 1988. Nashville, Tennessee); Girl run over by school bus (November 28, 1989. Smyrna, Delaware)

Cast

William Shatner
William Shatner
Self - Host

You May Also Like

Nashville

Nashville

2012 6.6
Flashpoint

Flashpoint

2008 7.3
Rescue: HI-Surf

Rescue: HI-Surf

2024 7.1
Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002

Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002

2001 7.7
MacGyver

MacGyver

2016 7.3
Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones

2011 8.5