Blog | 911 Emergency Dispatcher | 911 Emergency Dispatch

The Province of British Columbia has declared April 14-20 as Emergency Service Dispatchers and 9-1-1 Awareness week, in honour of the 9-1-1 call-takers, dispatchers, technology specialists and support staff who help keep our communities and first responders safe across the province.

You may take emergency service call takers and dispatchers for granted until you have a reason to call 9-1-1, but these are the people we turn to for help and safety during some of life’s most difficult moments. They make up the backbone of B.C.’s emergency response system, answering some of the most challenging calls with calming and reassuring voices to ensure you get the help you need in an emergency.

“This week, we recognize the staff at E-Comm who work tirelessly as the first, first responders and the lifeline between the public and our emergency services partners on the ground across the Province,” says Stephen Thatcher, Vice President, Operations. “It is impossible not to be inspired by our employees’ commitment to providing the robust infrastructure and services needed to ensure seamless public safety communications and responding swiftly to crises. Their professionalism is nothing short of commendable, and I am truly appreciative of the work they do.”

In addition to recognizing the unsung heroes of 9-1-1, this week is also an opportunity to remind everyone of simple, yet essential, steps we can take to help protect B.C.’s critical emergency resources.

• Know when to call 9-1-1 vs Non-Emergency. 9-1-1 is for emergencies where urgent help is required from police, fire or ambulance. To report a crime that does not require immediate help from police, call the non-emergency line or file a report online. Find your local number or online reporting tools at nonemergency.ca
• Avoid accidental calls to 9-1-1. E-Comm receives hundreds of accidental calls to 9-1-1 every day. Lock and store your phone or smart devices carefully. If you or a family member does call by accident, stay on the line. You won’t be in trouble, we simply need to verify you are safe.

• Know your location. Cellphones provide general information but they don’t pinpoint an exact location for 9-1-1 call-takers. Callers are always the best source of information, especially during an emergency when time is of the essence. Always know your location including what city you are in, building or home addresses, cross streets or any other landmark information that will help emergency personnel find you.
• Be prepared to answer questions. It’s the job of 9-1-1 call-takers to get you the emergency response you need. To do that, call-takers are trained to ask specific questions in a priority sequence, relaying information via computer to dispatchers and first responders. Listen carefully, speak clearly and try to remain calm.

9-1-1 is more than just a phone number—it’s a critical lifeline for those who need help during an emergency. Thank you for doing your part to keep 9-1-1 lines free for emergencies only.

Are you interested in helping to save lives and protect property? It’s your time to make a difference. Learn more about a career at E-Comm by visiting www.ecomm911.ca/join-our-team/

At approximately 6:00 am on Saturday, March 16, 2024, E-Comm was made aware of a service disruption that impacted several of its systems. This led to a temporary slow-down in processing of some emergency calls through 9-1-1.

E-Comm activated its back up protocols to ensure the continuity of its 9-1-1 services, which includes a secondary call-taking site and assistance from our partners at BCEHS.

E-Comm’s Technology Services team have been working diligently to restore affected systems and to assess the impact of the outage. The cause is believed to be a server malfunction as a result of overheating.

Phone services, including 9-1-1 and police non-emergency lines, were operating normally as of 11:00 am on March 16, 2024.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of E-Comm’s South Island 9-1-1/Police Dispatch Centre, which officially opened its doors on March 6, 2019, a milestone for the organization which has grown considerably throughout this time.

The centre, which is built and owned by the Capital Regional District and operated by E-Comm, provides 9-1-1 call-answer, police call-taking and dispatch services for the Central Saanich, Oak Bay, Saanich and Victoria police departments and 11 RCMP detachments in the central and southern Vancouver Island region.

Currently, around 100 employees work from E-Comm’s South Island centre, handling more than 1.4 million calls over the last five years. Of these calls include some of the most dynamic and challenging files, such as the 2022 mass casualty shooting in Saanich, where E-Comm staff were recognized for their outstanding contributions and heroic actions.

Their professionalism and dedication have been instrumental in coordinating multi-agency incidents, in ensuring both public safety and the safety of our first responder partners.

From Ladysmith to Sooke and from the Gulf Islands to Victoria, E-Comm is deeply proud to partner with first responders in ensuring the continued safety of communities across Vancouver Island.

 

Transformation initiatives spur positive momentum with more to come in 2024

E-Comm has released an update on the progress made to modernize and stabilize operations as part of a multi-year Transformation Plan.

2023 marked the first full year of a five-year plan, approved by E-Comm’s board in November 2022, to address long-standing challenges by providing dedicated funding, staff and capacity to implement needed improvements.

Despite an 11% increase to 9-1-1 calls in 2023, transformation initiatives are having an impact on improving service levels and answer times for both emergency and non-emergency calls.

“Our employees play a critical role in public safety as the lifeline for the public and first responders, and it is through their collective efforts that we’ve seen positive momentum from the changes that have been implemented to date,” says E-Comm’s Chief Transformation Officer Nancy Blair. “There’s more work to do and we’re committed to building on the progress made last year, in order to provide the best possible service to the public and our first responder partners while ensuring our employees are properly supported.”

Highlights from 2023:

• 98% of 9-1-1 calls were answered in less than 5 seconds provincewide, despite an 11% increase in 9-1-1 calls for police, fire, or ambulance. This was the best 9-1-1 service level in 5 years.
• On behalf of the police agencies it serves, E-Comm exceeded service level targets for police emergency calls in the Lower Mainland, answering 89% of police emergency calls within 10 seconds and met the target of 88% on Vancouver Island. E-Comm also exceeded its service level for fire emergency, answering 93% of fire emergency calls within 15 seconds. Note: 9-1-1 calls for ambulance go directly to BCEHS for file generation and dispatch.
• 63% of police non-emergency calls for Lower Mainland police agencies E-Comm serves were answered within 3 minutes or less (up from 44% in 2022) with an average speed to answer of 4 minutes, down from almost 11 minutes in 2022. E-Comm met its service level of 80% for non-emergency police calls on Vancouver Island. Improvements to police non-emergency call-taking service levels remain a key priority for E-Comm in 2024.

Key improvements & ongoing efforts

• New teams, tech and training for non-emergency calls

A dedicated non-emergency call taking team was established in 2023 to improve service to the communities we serve. E-Comm collaborated with our policing partners to simplify and consolidate over 1,500 standard operating procedures into under 100, which has streamlined training for our new call takers. A digital agent pilot with the Vancouver Police Department and the development of a new call handling system with call wait times and call back features, (coming this spring) are all part of ongoing efforts underway. Read more about non-emergency improvements.

• Increased recruitment, retention and employee support

E-Comm hired over 170 employees in 2023 to help improve operations, address long-standing capacity and skills gaps, and get staffing closer to the level necessary to meet targeted service levels consistently. An expanded peer coaching program provides enhanced support to new call takers and has improved retention by better on-the-job mentoring. E-Comm also concluded a new collective bargaining agreement and compensation review, with improved benefits and mental health supports, improving our ability to attract and retain great people.

• Next Generation 9-1-1 and enhanced cybersecurity

E-Comm is playing a lead role, working with the Province of BC, local governments and partner agencies to support the federally-mandated implementation of “Next Generation” 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) technology improvements. The program will move 9-1-1 voice calls to a new digital, IP-based network, the transition to which is to be completed by March 1, 2025. In March 2023, the Province of BC contributed $90 million to E-Comm, to support the initial implementation, which represents a significant avoided cost for our local government and agency partners. Additional technology improvements include: a new data resiliency centre, enhanced cybersecurity measures, and expanded data and analytics capabilities to guide and enhance operations and information sharing.

Read the full Transformation Plan Update here.

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About E-Comm

E-Comm is the first point of contact for 9-1-1 callers in 25 regional districts in British Columbia and provides dispatch services for more than 70 police agencies and fire departments across the province. E‐Comm also owns and operates the largest multi‐jurisdictional, tri‐service, wide‐area radio network in the province used by police, fire and ambulance personnel throughout Metro Vancouver and parts of the Fraser Valley.

Last week, staff gathered to celebrate Karen Hay, who has dedicated more than 45 years to emergency communications. This marks an incredible milestone not only for E-Comm, but for 9-1-1 in Vancouver.

Karen began her journey before 9-1-1 even existed. She was hired by Staff Sergeant Bill Marten of the Vancouver Police Department in 1977 to survey citizens using the phone book on whether a new 3-digit emergency number should be adopted in Vancouver.

Later that year, Karen joined the Vancouver Police Department as a civilian call taker, where operations looked a little different than they do today. When Karen first started in 1977, call takers had to hand-write physical cards and send them up conveyer belts to reach the dispatchers. Karen later went on to assist with the transition to the first Computer Aided Dispatch system, which is one of many ways 9-1-1 would evolve over the following four decades.

Karen was first seconded to E-Comm as a project training coordinator in 1996, where she helped to get the organization off the ground. When E-Comm opened its doors on June 8, 1999, Karen took one of the very first calls, becoming the first Civilian Central Dispatcher for the Vancouver Police Department.

Karen’s deep roots in 9-1-1 extend far beyond dispatch. Over the course of Karen’s career, she served as President for the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), assisted in  emergency communications at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and designed training courses for the Police Records Information Management Environment (PRIME BC). Karen has supported teams across the entire organization including Voice Records, where she currently serves today.

Beyond her extensive experience, historical knowledge and technical expertise, what sets Karen apart is her genuine passion for helping people, which she demonstrates in everything that she pursues.

Karen never fails to put a smile on the faces of her colleagues and it is clear that even after 45+ years, she continues to find joy and fulfilment in her work.

Thank you to Karen Hay for the tremendous contribution you have made to the development of 9-1-1, the role of E-Comm and the enhancement of public safety through emergency communications. Your dedication to public safety has benefited communities across British Columbia.