The Communications Division is staffed by 4 crews with a minimum of 8 Telecommunicators working 12-hour shifts. Each crew consists of a Supervisor and/or Crew Lead overseeing Communications Operations, which consists of 4 Law Enforcement radio positions, 2 Fire/EMS Radio positions, and at least 3 call takers fielding emergency and non-emergency calls for service. The Communications floor has 12 workstations allowing the agency to up-staff in the event of heavy call volume.
All Telecommunicators are APCO certified within the first few months in the position, are also Emergency Medical Dispatch certified, and are able to utilize this EMD training to provide pre-arrival instructions to the callers while the ambulance is responding.
The agency has a back-up 9-1-1 facility located approximately 10 miles from the main facility consisting of 10 workstations. This geographically separated facility helps to ensure that 911 and dispatch service would not be completely disrupted in the event of a natural disaster. We can utilize the facility concurrently with the main facility, allowing an extra 10 Telecommunicators to assist with call volume.
The agency utilizes Intergraph as our CAD system, enhanced by Pro-QA for emergency medical calls. Units in the field are equipped with Mobile Data Terminals, which allow the responding units to view comments and see previous history at the location. Units can utilize the MDT to create their own events, such as traffic stops, building checks, etc.
Incoming 911 and non-emergency calls are routed through the Positron Viper phone system. Eleven of the 12 workstations are capable of answering all incoming calls.
Radio Dispatch utilizes a Motorola MCC7500 Console to provide communications from Dispatch to units in the field.