RICHMOND, VA (LOOTPRESS) – The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) closes out calendar year 2024 with the rollout of next generation 9-1-1 services to its 114th local public safety answering point—the 9-1-1 Center which serves Bath County.
The Virginia 9-1-1 Services Board has been working since 2018 to convert local legacy analog 9-1-1 systems to a statewide next generation 9-1-1 system. The technology upgrade involves 124 local government 9-1-1 systems. The remaining 10 deployments are scheduled to be completed early in calendar year 2025.
“Next generation 9-1-1 technology is a paradigm shift taking Virginia 9-1-1 centers from the stone age to the space age in order to handle multimedia communications such as texts, photos and videos,” said Dorothy Spears-Dean, Ph.D., VDEM deputy state coordinator, 9-1-1 & Geospatial Services Bureau.
The system uses a secure emergency services Internet Protocol (IP) network to:
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Enhance routing of emergency calls
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Facilitate seamless call and data transfer
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Integrate with other public safety systems and databases
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Improve the ability of telecommunicators to receive 9-1-1 calls from mobile phones and devices, as well as receive text messages, and faster, more accurate caller location data
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Support faster network communication and call-load sharing between emergency communication centers. In mass casualty incidents or natural disasters, when the center becomes overwhelmed by calls, next generation 9-1-1 allows for calls to be automatically transferred and processed by another available 9-1-1 center.
“Enhancing 9-1-1 technology will improve first responder response times, enhance public safety, and ultimately will save lives,” said Spears-Dean.
