The question posed before a capacity crowd of roughly 150 people in Coaldale was "Can anyone put a price on a life?"

The answer given by Coaldale emergency officials, who were stressing the importance of the community's present 911 emergency communications system, was "no."Emergency officials from the Coaldale Fire Company and Community Ambulance Association explained to town residents that the borough council's November decision to switch to the Schuylkill County Communications Service and drop the 911 service offered by the Carbon County system could cost the loss of lives and homes.