Official: 911 project ahead of schedule
The project initially was to take two years to complete.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON — Officials on Columbiana County’s Technical Advisory Committee says its plan to enact enhanced 911 telephone service is ahead of schedule even though it also says the project may not be done until 2009.
County Commissioner Dan Bing said Tuesday, “We’re way ahead of schedule.”
Voters in 2003 approved a measure to fund the enhanced 911 system. An enhanced system means dispatchers will see the name and address of a caller on a screen when an emergency call is made.
In 2003, the commissioners expected it would take until 2005 to complete the project.
In 2004, the commissioners said the program would begin in 2006. The project was delayed last year when fire departments and other officials delayed preparation of street guides that will be used to direct emergency calls. The guides will route calls to one of five answering points — the sheriff’s office and police in East Liverpool, East Palestine, Salem and Columbiana.
But the county’s plan also includes 911 service for cell phone users. The committee still has to map the entire county with global positioning system technology. That will allow authorities to pinpoint emergency calls on roads or in secluded areas.
According to the committee, that may not be complete until 2009.
Robert Emmons, the director of the program, said, “The average implementation is about four years. There is so much that needs to be done.”
A possible delay in adding Columbiana city residents to the master list of numbers has been resolved.
AT&T was able to create a computer replacement program to change the routing for all the numbers at one time from the current basic 911 to the new system. There was a concern of having to change the routing for each number one at a time.
The data base of phone and other records is about 95 percent accurate, Emmons said. He estimated that information on about 1,000 to 1,500 numbers still has to be corrected.
When the information is more than 99 percent correct, AT&T will begin to load the information into a data base that will be updated regularly as customers routinely start and stop service.
The committee also is considering having training for dispatchers between Oct. 15 and Nov. 15.
wilkinson@vindy.com