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Officials taking steps to improve 911
By Ed Runyan
NILES
Officials from Trumbull County and the City of Niles are taking similar steps to move to the next level of 911 service for their customers.
While county officials are purchasing equipment that will allow the county 911 center and city of Warren to identify the location of wireless 911 calls to within 50 feet, Niles has purchased software and equipment to get itself ready.
Currently, dispatchers in Trumbull County are able to identify the location of a wireless 911 call to within miles rather than feet.
The technology, known as Phase 2, allows police and fire to more easily find wireless 911 callers who either don’t know where they are or are unable to talk.
Three primary 911 answering points — in Howland (the county dispatching center), Warren and Niles — are likely to be ready to begin using Phase 2 technology in four to six months, said Ernie Cook, county 911 director.
The county’s several other 911 call answering points will be online about that same time, Cook said. The county plan will provide a new work station at each of those locations to make that possible.
Niles installed its new equipment three weeks ago, said Tom Telego, Niles 911 director. Niles’ new equipment and software cost $75,000. One of the benefits for Niles so far is being able to tie into an updated countywide electronic map that went into use about six months ago, Telego said.
The map, which cost about $450,000, helps Niles identify locations of Niles 911 calls made on landline telephones, Telego said.
The the next big payoff for Niles will come when the county brings Niles comes online with the countywide 911 system.
Niles employs two dispatchers in its 911 center at all times. It went to two dispatchers when it added Weathersfield Township to its dispatching operation in 2005, Telego said.
Niles’ new equipment keeps Niles “at the cutting edge of technology,” Telego said in a press release. “It was important that we purchased a system that would adapt to future needs.”