Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Booker gives status of 9-1-1 system

Programming problems between CenturyTel and Southwestern Bell Telephone, thereby delaying the Nevada County 9-1-1 emergency telephone system being fully operational.

However, Dale Booker, 9-1-1 coordinator, said to the Prescott City Council at its April meeting, county residents can call 9-1-1 for help in an emergency.

The problem with the phone companies, he said, concerns data not matching and some calls not going to 9-1-1.

Once the situation between the two phone companies is resolved, he said, when 9-1-1 is called, the caller's phone number, address and location will appear on the terminal screen making it easier to dispatch emergency personnel to the proper location.

All calls are recorded, with a hard copy also printed out for all agencies involved. The tape recorder is kept under lock and key, and there are only three keys to the cabinet.

All of the emergency radios are now in one room with the dispatcher and the 9-1-1 console. The 9-1-1 phone has six lines, four being what is termed land lines (regular telephone lines) and two designated for cellular phones. However, Nevada County doesn't currently have the capability to handle cell phone 9-1-1 calls.

When this technology becomes available in the county, Booker said, it will be incorporated into the 9-1-1 system.

The cell phone system, he said, will be able to locate the exact location of the person using the cell phone. But, before this can be done, Nevada County needs more cell phone towers.

All 9-1-1 calls will go directly to the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, where the equipment is housed. Emergency calls will be dispatched from there.

The system, he said, will begin recording once the third digit is dialed, even before an operator picks up the phone. It will record how long it takes the dispatchers to answer the phone and how they handle the calls. The recorder can't be turned off during a call.

Booker said the mapping portion for 9-1-1 began with an aerial photo of the county. From there a digital map was designed, which operates in real time for cell phone users.

So, he said, when a cell call comes in, the location of the phone will be shown, and the latitude and longitude can displayed as well, providing the caller has a GPS antenna.

Booker recently went to a 9-1-1 seminar in Little Rock, where he was shown how the Pulaski County 9-1-1 system is operated. There, three separate dispatchers handle incoming calls, transferring them to the proper department, such as police, fire or ambulance.

Nevada County, he said, will have one dispatcher at a time, but this will be adequate for the load of emergency calls.

Additionally, he said, emergency vehicles will have 9-1-1 decals.

However, the equipment is meaningless, he said, without properly trained personnel to operate it. The Pulaski County Sheriff's Office has agreed to train the NCSO dispatchers in a 40-hour class at no charge to Nevada County.

The course will be in-depth and teach the operators how to deal with a multitude of emergencies. The local dispatchers won't be medically trained, he said, but will be able to transfer the calls with the push of a button.

"This is something we need," Booker said, "9-1-1 will pay the expenses for the training.

"Nevada County has the most complete 9-1-1 system in the state, and it could be a problem getting people to take advantage of this training."

Booker has been working to get the 9-1-1 system up and running for three years, and it's been operational for the last six months.

At this time, he said, the map lacks 20 percent of the City of Prescott, but the addressing is being worked on.

There will be five computer screens in the 9-1-1 office at the NCSO, he said. Two will be for law enforcement, two for 9-1-1 with the other for mapping.

Making prank calls to 9-1-1 is illegal, he said. The city and county will have to pass ordinances setting fines for those who violate this law. In some cities, the fine for making a prank 9-1-1 call is $250.