Emergency Dispatch Call Center Acquires Next Generation E9-1-1 Capatility

DAYTON-What is sleek, shiny, compact and quiet?

No, it is not a new car.

It is the new E9-1-1 phone system and audio logger from Zetron that was recently purchased by the county to replace the old Intrado Lifeline 100 phone system in the emergency dispatch center at the courthouse.

The new system comprises three work stations, two with radios for the dispatchers, one for County Emergency Manager Lisa Caldwell to use when back-up is needed, and an audio logger which records all calls and radio traffic.

"It's so simple. It has a touch screen. It also has an external phone line so if we lose use of the computer we will have a handset for minimal information," Caldwell said, pointing to a little box.

"This system will allow us to take text to 9-1-1 from cell phones, which is extremely important to the hearing impaired community," she added.

"When E9-1-1 next generation is fully implemented, nationally, there is an expectation that the phone systems will be able to handle all platforms for audio, video, and text messaging," Caldwell said.

"We purchased the equipment so when the infrastructure is in place we can handle photo, video, and texting with 9-1-1 calls," she went on to say.

Caldwell said texting to E9-1-1 will be deployed by the end of the year.

She explained that over time the dispatch center has moved away from the old phone systems with copper lines, to enhanced 9-1-1 with corded phones, at a time when payphones were still in use, and then into Phase I of the cell phone era, where tower placement was crucial to receiving a call.

Caldwell said that in Phase I of the cell phone era, the only information gleaned from the cell phone location was the latitude and longitude of the call.

"We deal with that a lot, in Columbia County," Caldwell said.

Then came Phase II with cell phone calls identifying longitude and latitude, but no address for the location – only the phone carrier given, she said.

So if a call comes in on a Verizon phone, dispatchers have to obtain the subscriber information from Verizon, through a warrant-like process, said Caldwell.

"Now we are up to date, and the county will have more options," Caldwell said.

The Zetron E9-1-1 phone system and audio logger are expected to be up and running on June 24, Caldwell said.

Dispatchers will begin training on the new system this month, and the final move from the old Intrado Lifeline 100 phone system, to the new phone system, will take place when dispatchers are comfortable with it and all the "bugs" are worked out, Caldwell said.

The county received $356,602 from the state through excise taxes from wireline, cellular, voice over internet protocol, and phone landlines, to pay for the system.

That grant will cover the phone system and the audio logger, project management, installation and training, maintenance, sales tax, and upgrades to the building such as removal of the old equipment, Caldwell said.

Washington State 9-1-1 falls under the military department, and its goal and vision is for every person in Washington State to have equal access to 9-1-1, so that people living in King County and Columbia County can expect the same service, Caldwell said.