MAHONING COUNTY Grant will allow upgrade of 911 emergency system

The county will be first in Ohio to have the cellular technology.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County has received a grant for equipment to help emergency dispatchers locate the origin and the telephone number of 911 emergency calls made on cellular telephones.
The county will be the first in Ohio to have such capability, but must wait for enabling legislation before the equipment can be used, said Maggi McGee, 911 coordinator.
The upgrade will be paid for with a $95,770 grant from the Public Safety Foundation of America, which was founded in January 2002 by the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International.
From a standard phone
When a call is made to 911 from a standard telephone, a computer screen immediately displays information about where the call is coming from. That way, even if the caller is too sick or injured to talk, dispatchers still will know where to send help.
But when a call comes in from a cellular phone, the point of origin can't be pinpointed. McGee said the new equipment will change that.
McGee said more than 200,000 cellular calls are placed to county 911 dispatchers each year, and she expects that number to grow as the number of wireless subscribers increases, possibly doubling within the next four years.
"It is a matter of life and death that we can respond to wireless calls with the same quality of services available to land lines," McGee said.
Commissioner Ed Reese complimented McGee and the county's special projects division for securing the grant.
"During this period of homeland security concerns, it is more critical than ever to maintain the edge on technology," Reese said.
Legislation
McGee said she intends to move forward with buying and installing the equipment, although it can't be used until legislation is passed that will allow cellular and standard phone companies to recover their costs. That legislation is being prepared now.
Once the legislation is passed, the county's equipment will already be in place, McGee said. She expects the equipment upgrades to be completed by July 2004.
bjackson@vindy.com