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Dispatchers look forward to new Enhanced-911 equipment
BY CYNTHIA COLEMAN • STAFF WRITER
WARM SPRINGS - Last Wednesday, Bath County's dispatchers watched a presentation on the new enhanced 911 system. "We were all really impressed by the demonstration," said Teresa Shelton, 911 coordinator.
Currently, anyone dialing 911 will reach a dispatcher who must write down the information taken from the caller. "It's pen and paper," said Shelton. "We have two land lines to handle calls," she continued, "but anyone calling from a cell phone, that call goes to the state police office in Salem, who sends the call up to us."
Most calls are made either for fire or rescue, with only a few for deputies. "Dispatchers try to get as much information from callers as possible," said Shelton. The dispatchers can use a database spreadsheet created when the roads were named and mapped, or use a map on the wall to locate a caller. "To contact fire or rescue," said Shelton, "the dispatcher does what is called 'tone out,'" In sounding the tone, dispatchers relay information to responders, who then must find the location of the caller and travel as quickly as possible to the incident.
With the new system, the process will be faster and easier, as demonstrated by InterAct Public Safety Systems last Wednesday, where dispatchers learned about the new hardware and software.
"We'll have three monitors," said Shelton, "one with the mapping system, one with a CAD system and the other with a screen showing the phone number and address." The CAD system, or computer aided dispatch, will respond to a call by recording the incident's details and let the dispatcher know the most appropriate unit to respond. With the enhanced system, anyone reporting an incident using a cell phone will have the call go directly to E-911.
The new E-911 building will be erected behind the sheriff's office, and construction is scheduled to begin the first of September. "We were told," said Shelton, "the equipment would be set up in February 2008, with dispatcher training taking place in May."
The following June, the building and E-911 system will be completed, and "we'll go live," said Shelton.
The new building will house Shelton's office, an office for the on-call magistrate, the dispatchers and the E-911 system. "We have five full-time dispatchers," said Shelton, "but only one on per shift."
The dispatchers will continue to take calls phoned in to the sheriff's office.
We will have five dispatchers who will be trained on the E-911 system," said Shelton. They are deputies Daniel Armstrong, Pete Bird, Kim Cauley, Angela Hicklin and Angella Wolfe.
"They are excited about the change," said Shelton.
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