Geary County dispatchers need resident information
25 percent of area not registered for emergency system
7:02 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Geary County police receive dozens of emergency calls throughout the day. But the dispatch center is converting to a new program that needs more information from residents.
Geary County police and firefighters started the E-9-1-1 program last summer.
But about 25 percent of county residents have not registered their address with the program, posing a risk of how fast responders can get to the scene and posing an even greater risk to how many lives they can save.
We spoke to Geary County Police Chief Bob Story about the problems with responding to emergency scenes.
“As far as our dispatch center, we’ve only had probably two calls in the past year, that we can recall, that really got us confused to where we’re supposed to send somebody,” Story says.
He says the county responds to most scenes within a few minutes.
Callers have given wrong addresses to dispatchers and emergency crews have been delayed by a few minutes – and in rare cases – have been up to a mile off from where the call was initiated.
But in a month, dispatchers will be able to pinpoint a caller’s exact location.
“We’re integrating the county map into what we have the city map now,” Story says. “So actually, when a call comes in from a resident in the county, it will pinpoint it on a map.”
The system is can tell where a cell phone caller is located every 30 seconds.
But even with new technology, Story says one thing makes the center a success.
“Out dispatchers have done a wonderful job with it,” he says. “It’s new, it’s easy. It’s just been great.”
A Geary County resolution requires residential driveways to be marked with house numbers larger than four inches tall with a contrasting background and visible from both directions.
It is suggested the residence also be marked to help responders.
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