By Steve Marroni
The Evening Sun
HANOVER, Pa. — The Adams County 911 Communication Center has gone through a recent upgrade that emergency officials say greatly enhances the work done by its dispatchers.
Director of Emergency Services John Eline said the new computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, which was put in place in July, replaces an outdated, 1999 system that is no longer supported by the manufacturer.
Adams County Commissioners approved purchasing the CAD system in November at a cost of $713,945, but 60-percent of that amount is covered by wireless funding the county receives each year from the state.
“The new CAD system has been a tremendous help to our dispatchers,” Eline said. “It automates a lot of what was done manually, and improves the response time.”
When a caller phones 911, most of the necessary information automatically pops up on the dispatcher’s computer. In addition to the caller’s name, phone number and address, dispatchers can also see some medical-history information, such as if a resident is hooked to oxygen, or has a history of heart attacks.
If the call is about a fire, Eline said the responding fire department shows up on the dispatcher’s screen, along with secondary responders, and they can be alerted and sent out with the click of an icon.
The system also displays maps and aerial photographs so dispatchers can relay better directions to responders.
Like any new computer program, there are still some bugs to work out, but Eline said it’s a vast improvement over the old system.
And while the CAD system has been upgraded, the county is also working on final plans to replace its current, analog radio system with a new, $25.1 million digital-radio system that commissioners approved in March.
Eline said the radio replacement is long overdue since the current system breaks down almost daily, and often replacement parts have to be purchased on eBay. Responders find it difficult to receive or transmit signals in quite a few areas around the county, and those who communicate with other counties have to carry multiple radios to do so.
The new system will increase coverage to 95 percent of the county 95 percent of the time, and dispatchers will be able to patch together radios from different counties with the flip of a switch.
Eline said final plans are in the works to ensure all the technical aspects line up with what the county is looking for in the system from Motorola Solutions Inc.
“It gives us an opportunity to make sure they address everything,” Eline said. “We can see, at least on paper, how it works.”
He said it’s unlikely that the system will be up and running before the end of 2013. And when it is installed, there will likely be some bugs that need to be worked out, so the new system will be rolled out incrementally, bringing on a couple departments at a time, with the current system remaining operational as a backup.
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