The 411 on 9-1-1

Question of the Month: (October 2010)

"Who am I talking to when I call 9-1-1? I mean, where are they?"

"9-1-1. What's your emergency?" 24 hours a day. 7 days a week. 365 days a year. Someone will be there to answer your call and work to provide you emergency assistance for what may be the worst day of your life.

Most of us think that some sort of "9-1-1 magic" occurs after we call. Thinking, as soon as we hang up, we will look up to see patrol cars, fire engines, or ambulances with lights and sirens blaring and screeching to a halt in front of us, ready to save the day. However, the call is just the beginning of a well choreographed dance between multiple agencies and personnel.

Each of the three emergency dispatch centers servicing Kootenai County work extremely hard to insure the caller (known as the reporting party or "RP") has his/her needs addressed as efficiently and quickly as possible. To gather information for this article, I spoke with supervisors from each agency.

Charlene Holbrook, Communications Director from Post Falls Police Department, oversees the dispatchers, called Emergency Communication Officers (ECO's), which handle calls for law enforcement in the cities of Rathdrum and Post Falls. Idaho State Police's Regional Communications Center Coordinator Melissa Stroh says they dispatch State Troopers for the 10 northern counties of Idaho. Only one other State Police dispatch center services Idaho which is located in Meridian.

Finally, dispatching for 14 agencies, including all fire, medical, Kootenai County Sheriff and police departments in Coeur d'Alene, Spirit Lake, Hayden Lake and Tribal police, is Kootenai County 9-1-1 ("Central Dispatch") with the manager of operations, Amber Schafer overseeing the emergency call center.

Staffing for all agencies is 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Typically six dispatchers are manning phones at Central Dispatch while two Emergency Communication Officers and two Records Specialists are taking calls at the Post Falls police center, and three dispatchers are fielding the State Police emergency calls.

Although all three agencies provide similar services, there are unique differences in procedures and types of calls they dispatch. Callers within the city limits of Post Falls and Rathdrum will reach the Post Falls police dispatch center if they call 9-1-1 by land line or cell phone, though some cell calls will be routed to Central Dispatch if a cell tower outside city limits receives their signal. Calling 9-1-1 in the rest of Kootenai County will connect you with Central Dispatch. Those requiring assistance from the Idaho State Police would need to call them directly at *ISP (*477) or (208) 209-8730, as they are not part of the 9-1-1 system and receive funding legislatively versus through local taxes.

If a caller contacts 9-1-1 but the incident is on the interstate or highway system, appropriate medical and fire/rescue personnel will be dispatched and the caller will then be transferred from the 9-1-1 center directly to Idaho State Police. Because ISP is not part of the 9-1-1 system, callers may be asked to repeat information and should show patience as the State Police call taker is most likely hearing your information for the first time.

Although callers are often highly stressed during emergency calls, they can help get appropriate resources sent their way most efficiently by assisting the call takers in several ways. The first is to provide clear and concise details on the nature of the call. Equally as important are the specific details regarding the location of the incident and current status, including whether it is ongoing such as with an intruder, fire, domestic violence, possible drunk driver, etc.

If it is determined that another dispatching agency needs to assist the caller, all centers are connected directly with each other through "drop lines;" dedicated phone lines requiring only a push of a button to connect. Regardless of agency called or location within Kootenai County, all medical, fire, rescue and law enforcement (except State, Rathdrum and Post Falls police), will be dispatched through the Kootenai County 9-1-1 center.

Amber Schafer of Kootenai County 9-1-1 would like callers to be aware that emergency call takers may be receiving multiple calls for the same incident along with reports of other incidents simultaneously. Add to this, while fielding calls, dispatchers are also typing the information into computers while calmly relaying information to and from emergency responders. When multiple incidents are occurring at the same time, they are prioritized and a reporting person may be asked to hold for a brief period. This obviously can cause frustration and raise one's anxiety but call takers are aware of your concerns and will address them as quickly as possible.

When asked to describe some of the challenges facing emergency call takers, all three voiced the importance of providing a concise location of the incident reported. Use of addresses, street names, intersecting streets or even distance and direction from obvious landmarks can assist call takers in determining your location. Callers are asked for their names and a contact phone number as well in case the call is interrupted for any reason or officials need to contact them later for follow-up information.

If at all possible, a reporting person may be asked to remain on the line if it can be done safely. In rare situations, if it is not possible or safe for a caller to continue talking, they may be asked to leave the phone on so the call can be recorded and monitored as help responds.

Charlene Holbrook of Post Falls police strongly encourages victims of crime to call for assistance without delay, no matter what time of day or night. It is much easier to collect information and evidence while it is fresh. People involved in the crime or witnesses, will be closer to the incident and much easier to contact.

Also, residents are asked to assist senior citizens living alone by encouraging them to call sooner than later if help is needed. There have been situations when senior citizens have fallen and been unable to get up but hesitate to call for help in fear of inconveniencing anyone, one resident remaining on the floor for two days, though the phone was within reach.

All supervisors say there are calls which truly are not emergencies and can take valuable time away from actual crisis situations and at the worst, delay possible life saving responses. These types of calls include children "playing" on phones and prank 9-1-1 calls. Accidental calls, often called "butt calls," calls for barking dogs, road conditions and neighbor complaints are very common. These types of calls should be directed to the appropriate agencies' business phone number during regular office hours.

Melissa Stroh of the Idaho State Police mentioned that they frequently get calls for road conditions, especially during winter months. Though important, these calls don't warrant a call for an emergency response and can tie up valuable time and resources that may be needed for true emergencies.

The Idaho Department of Transportation maintains an excellent website which has easy to read options for viewing current road conditions, including road closures and construction zones (www.511.idaho.gov). Similar information may be obtained from their recorded message line of local and regional road conditions at (888) 432-7623 or 511 from a cell phone.

With a better understanding of our emergency call centers in Kootenai County, callers can rest assured that when emergency help is needed, there are dedicated professionals waiting to assist you: 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Stay safe out there!

Jim Lyon is the public education specialist/information officer with Kootenai County Fire and Rescue (KCFR). If you have a question about emergency services in your area, please submit your question to "Ask Firefighter Jim" at askffjim@kootenaifire.com. Visit our Web page at www.kootenaifire.com for additional information and to read archives of previously answered questions under the link, "Prevention."