As communications technology continues to improve, Warren County’s 911 Dispatch is working to improve the service they provide. The first of these improvements actually came in October of last year, text to 911. 

Warren County Emergency Services Dispatch Center Administrator Amy Leach said she wanted to make sure citizens were aware of the service as she said the technology can be useful in a myriad of situations. 

“Say you walk into Fastlane and it’s being robbed. You’re not going to openly call 911, so the person knows you’re on the phone, but you might send a text message if you know that’s available,” Leach said. 

Outside of text to 911, there were other upcoming improvements that Leach was excited about, namely the dispatch center upgrading from what she referred to as a legacy system to the new industry standard, ESInet. 

These improvements are now available through grant funding from the state as 911 dispatchers were legally recognized as first responders by Governor Mike Parson in July of last year and grant funding was made available. 

ESInet, also referred to as Next Gen 911, will not only upgrade the lines that 911 services rely on, from copper landlines to fiber optic cable, but it also provides a much wider range of services and tools for dispatchers. 

Project Manager Tyler Benton said that not only was the new technology more reliable, but it will allow them to communicate more effectively with other dispatch agencies. 

“So then we can say, okay, Lincoln County and we are inundated with calls on the county line, let’s pass those calls over to another agency, so it’s a little easier on the burden for dispatch that they don’t have calls in the queue,” Benton said. 

He also elaborated saying that another new capability with ESInet is establishing geofences for incidents creating a high volume of calls, like a car accident. 

He said that some events, like a car accident on Interstate 70, can lead to lots of calls for the same event. With ESInet, dispatchers will be able to create a geofence that filters out additional calls for an event they are already responding to so they can keep the airways clear. 

“We can draw a geofence around that area and say, ‘we have a high volume of calls for this reported incident, thank you for your call, if you have something separate, call us.’ … But before, if we only had three operators on, and we’re taking four or five calls, those calls would go to Lincoln County,” Leach said. 

There are other improvements as well, according to Leach and Benton. With ESInet, calls from smartphones can also transfer valuable information to first responders, like medical history or pre-existing conditions, if that information is saved on the phone. 

Leach said that while they have signed the contract with the state for the grant funding, the actual implementation of the technology is still further down the road. 

She said that they were at the mercy of the contractors making the changes although she expected the new systems would be available and implemented in six to nine months.