PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – So you’re wondering how you might spend the 4th of July weekend. Some of you seek out answers, by dialing 911. And one county is asking that you stop.

Believe it or not, Camden County emergency operators get hundreds of calls every year around the Independence Day holiday asking where fireworks performances are and to get directions. That gets in the way of people who have REAL emergencies which is, after all, what 911 is supposed to handle.

County Freeholder Jeffrey Nash explains why the community should think twice before dialing 911 for social reasons.

“We have fires and other types of problems and we want to make sure that the 911 emergency management system is used for that – Emergencies.”

You can call your municipality or go online to check for where things are going on. Nash admits this problem is hardly unique to Camden County. But officials are taking the unusual move of asking people to keep 911 lines open because you can’t be too careful.