SARASOTA, Fla. — New technology is helping 911 dispatchers in Sarasota County get help to residents more quickly. The county's Public Safety Communications Center (PSCC) recently upgraded its call processing equipment and mobile emergency service internet.
According to county officials, over the last few months, dispatchers have been learning and implementing the new call processing system which has helped end reliance on a device's GPS or pings to a wireless tower.
"A lot of times, when we would get the packet from the phone or the phone number, it would come up as like...Phase 1 where we would get the tower location," Kirsten Fitzpatrick, with the Sarasota County PSCC, said. "We would have to re-bid or ask the phone for the location again to get that latitude and longitude information."
With the new technology, voice and data would now be patched through simultaneously.
"It helps us with knowing where the location of a caller is much sooner," Fitzpatrick said. "Especially if someone doesn't know where they're calling from and it also limits the number of transfers we have to do. It directs the calls more accurately to the right 911 center."
Officials said the new process can save around 20 to 30 seconds and allow first responders to get to an emergency faster.
"That doesn't sound like a lot but it is quite a big leap," Sally Lawrence, the 911 coordinator for Sarasota County, explained.
First responders would also get more accurate information instead of waiting or heading towards an unrelated, nearby location while the system updates with a specific location.
They say this is especially critical for high acuity calls like heart attacks, drownings, or fires and in areas that overlay with neighboring counties
"Our calls will go to Manatee County and then have to be transferred back, that is once the dispatcher in Manatee County has figured out where they were and then they would transfer it back. That could be 40 seconds to two minutes," Lawrence said.
The county is working with wireless carriers and service providers to ensure they get onto the system as soon as possible.
Among the upgrades are laptops that are paired with the remote radio system. This would allow 911 dispatchers to be mobile – as long as they have access to power and an internet connection.