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DIAL 911 IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY
IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!

CALL FOR HELP FIRST!

Tell the 911 Dispatcher:

Your Name
Telephone number you are calling from
Address where help is needed

DO NOT HANG UP UNLESS YOU ARE IN DANGER!

When you call 911:

Stay calm and describe your emergency
Speak clearly and answer all questions
Give your name, address and phone number
Don't hang up until told to do so

Call 911 when you need help if:

Someone is hurt
You see a fire or you witness a crime
You see someone suspicious hanging around your house or neighborhood

THE NUMBER TO CALL FOR EMERGENCY HELP IS 911

You can call from any type of phone!
Pay Phones are free!
911 is there whenever you need it. If you're in doubt about whether or not you have an emergency...

DON'T WAIT... CALL 911

911 TAKES CALLS AND DISPATCHES FOR...

CENTER HISTORY

Clinton County organized its central dispatch center in 1974 with help from other agencies. Equipment was collected from these various agencies and set up in the basement of the County's SusqueView Home. We had one tower which was a telephone pole on the Swissdale mountain, a meager shelter with a 300 watt fire radio, a high band police radio, and an EMS radio.

For the next 5 years the county was part of a program initiated by SEDA-COG. Under this program we expanded the system to 4 towers; one each at Swissdale, Bald Eagle (Castenea), Riansares (Loganton), and Tamarack. The County functioned like this until November of 1993.

In November of 1993 a huge change came to the center with the addition of enhanced 911 (E911). This improved the speed and accuracy with which a 911 call could be dispatched. An E911 system with the aid of ANI/ALI (Automatic Number Identifier/Automatic Location Identifier) identifies the 911 caller's phone number and location based on the physical address listed with the phone company. As the dispatcher is asking "911 What is your emergency" a phone number and address is instantaneously being displayed for verification of the emergencies location. This also allows the 911 dispatcher to send emergency equipment to the proper location even if the caller cannot speak, becomes unconscious, is a child, or gets disconnected.

In 1995 another center upgrade included a computer aided dispatch (CAD) software system purchased from a Michigan based company, New World Systems. The function of a CAD is to first identify based on the type emergency what equipment and personnel should respond. The CAD uses run indexes set up by fire, police, and EMS chiefs identifying what equipment is first due, second due, etc. Once equipment is dispatched the entire call is documented with incident location, incident type, equipment response times, and incident narrative to name a few. Once an incident is closed a multitude of reports can be generated from the CAD.

After the caller and emergency are identified and the CAD defines response units the dispatcher sets off pager tones and house sirens to alert emergency personnel that a call exists and that they need to respond. The dispatcher relays incident type and location to the emergency responders. They also assist with directions and additional units/personnel as requested and keep the caller on the phone and may give life saving instructions such as how to perform CPR before emergency crews arrive.

With much of our county being rural and mountainous, directions to some locations can be a challenge. In some cases the emergency responders must travel out of their normal run territories into areas they are not familiar with. In 2001 the dispatchers started to use the county's GIS (computerized mapping) data for directions and routing. By entering in a street address or GPS coordinates the emergency location is quickly identified. This is also used to identify new or predefined landing zones for life flight helicopters, water sources, hydrants, etc.

Current and future projects include wireless Phase I and Phase II. In Phase I a wireless number will be obtained from the 911 caller and displayed to the dispatcher. In Phase II the wireless location coordinates will be sent and displayed to the dispatcher. Wireless Phase I and Phase II will function the same as an ANI/ALI except it is used for identifying cell phone callers. 911 calls placed using a cell phone have been a challenge due to many callers are from out of the area and don't always know their location. With Phase II GPS coordinates will be displayed to the dispatcher for an accurate location.