Blog | 911 Emergency Dispatcher | 911 Emergency Dispatch

Vancouver, B.C.—To help raise awareness about the impact on emergency services, E-Comm has released a list of the top calls that shouldn’t have been placed to 9-1-1 in 2015.

“We want to remind people about what’s at risk when 9-1-1 is used as an information line or for other reasons that do not meet the test of a true emergency: A police, fire or medical situation that requires immediate action because someone’s health, safety, or property is in jeopardy or a crime is in progress,” explains Jody Robertson, E-Comm’s director of corporate communications.

Almost 3,400 9-1-1 calls flow through E-Comm every day. Robertson says while the majority of people use 9-1-1 responsibly, calls like the ones on this year’s top ten list waste valuable emergency resources by tying up 9-1-1 call-takers’ time.

This year’s top reason not to call 9-1-1? Requesting the number for a local tire dealership.

“My job is to treat every call as an emergency, no matter how illogical it may seem on the surface,” says E-Comm 9-1-1 call-taker Harrison Kwan, recipient of this year’s top nuisance call. “We are trained to ask questions in case a caller is in distress and can’t speak freely. It’s only when I’m completely satisfied that the call is not a real emergency that I can disconnect and go back to answering other 9-1-1 calls. And that takes time.”

2015 top ten reasons to not call 9-1-1:

1. Requesting the number for a local tire dealership
2. Reporting an issue with a vending machine
3. Asking for the non-emergency line
4. Because a car parked too close to theirs
5. “My son won’t put his seatbelt on”
6. Coffee shop is refusing to refill coffee
7. Asking if it’s okay to park on the street
8. “My roommate used my toothbrush”
9. Asking for help getting a basketball out of a tree
10. Reporting that their building’s air system is too loud and they can’t sleep

“We hope that our message that 9-1-1 call-takers can’t answer questions or manage non-emergency situations on 9-1-1 lifelines will encourage people to learn more about 9-1-1,” adds Robertson. “There’s lots of information on our web site—ecomm911.ca—about when to use 9-1-1 and when to use non-emergency numbers for police, fire and ambulance, along with easy access to those numbers and free education materials available for order, including learning tools for children.”

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E-Comm is the Primary 9-1-1 Public Safety Answer Point (PSAP) for 24 regional districts and other communities spanning from Vancouver Island to the Alberta and U.S. borders, to north of Prince George and is the largest 9-1-1 call centre in British Columbia. E-Comm also provides dispatch services to 33 police and fire departments and operates the largest multi-jurisdictional, tri-service emergency radio system in the province.

Media Contact:
Jody Robertson
E-Comm 9-1-1
604-215-4956
[email protected]

Available multi-media

Audio from top 9-1-1 nuisance call from 2015

Audio from second top 9-1-1 nuisance call from 2015

Vancouver, B.C.—Today at 9:15 a.m. E-Comm—British Columbia’s largest 9-1-1 Primary Public Safety Answer Point (PSAP)—became the first point of contact for 9-1-1 callers in the city of Nanaimo and the regional districts of Nanaimo and Cowichan Valley. The changeover to E-Comm will be transparent to residents of central Vancouver Island, who should dial 9-1-1 as usual.

Approximately 57,000 9-1-1 calls are made each year from the Central Island area, which will now be answered by E-Comm’s many highly-trained 9-1-1 call-takers. E-Comm staff will quickly confirm which agency the caller requires and for which location before transferring the call to local police call-takers in Courtenay, fire call-takers in Nanaimo and ambulance call-takers in Victoria.

“This is an important day for Central Island residents who are accustomed to high-quality 9-1-1 service,” said Mike Dietrich, (Acting) Director Social & Protective Services with the City of Nanaimo. “Based on E-Comm’s outstanding track record over the past 16-years operating as a PSAP, we are confident in the communication centre’s ability to continue to deliver this same level of service.”

After months of collaborative technical and operational planning, the transfer of 9-1-1 services occurred seamlessly with the first call coming into E-Comm at 9:23 a.m. The call was a request for the ambulance service.

“Public safety is always a priority and the new partnership with E-Comm will ensure our communities receive added operational and technical benefits,” explained Colin Haime, Deputy Chair of the Regional District of Nanaimo. “This includes a larger workforce to handle high call volume as well as increased security and resiliency.”

Conrad Cowan with the Cowichan Valley Regional District added that there will also be significant cost savings. “The Central Island 9-1-1 partnership chose to relocate services to E-Comm because we felt this would provide our regional districts with the most cost effective, high-quality operational and technical expertise, along with a robust infrastructure with many layers of redundancy for our residents,” said Cowan, Manager, Public Safety Division.

Part of the robust preparations surrounding this morning’s transition included multiple test calls across both regional districts. Geography familiarization was also part of the preparations with the many geographical and other special attributes of the new service area being a focus of call-taker training, along with the policies and procedures for individual agencies.

“Whenever we embark upon a new service partnership preparation is our top priority,” explained David Guscott, E-Comm President and CEO. “9-1-1 is a critical lifeline for people in need of immediate help from first responders, and we are committed to providing high-quality, responsive 9-1-1 service to our new partners and the residents of central Vancouver Island.”

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E-Comm is the Primary 9-1-1 Public Safety Answer Point (PSAP) for 24 regional districts and other communities spanning from Vancouver Island to the Alberta and U.S. borders, to north of Prince George and is the largest 9-1-1 call centre in British Columbia. E-Comm also provides dispatch services to 33 police and fire departments and operates the largest multi-jurisdictional, tri-service emergency radio system in the province.

Media contact: 

E-Comm 9-1-1
Jody Robertson
604-512-3242
[email protected]

City of Nanaimo
Philip Cooper
250-755-4532
[email protected]

Regional District of Nanaimo
Christina Gray
250-390-6554
[email protected]

Cowichan Valley Regional District
Conrad Cowan
250-746-2562
[email protected]

Nanaimo, B.C.—Commencing November 17, 2015, emergency 9-1-1 calls from Central Vancouver Island will be answered by E-Comm, the emergency communications centre located in Vancouver.  Details in this news release.

Vancouver, B.C.—E-Comm, Emergency Communications for British Columbia Incorporated, is pleased to announce its 2015-2016 board of directors. The announcement follows today’s Annual General Meeting, held at the emergency communications centre.

“2014 was a significant year for E-Comm, marking 15 years of supporting first responders and public safety in B.C.,” said David Guscott, E-Comm president and CEO. “Our services and scope have grown considerably over the years and we are confident that with the leadership of our Board of Directors, we will continue to support our mission to deliver exceptional emergency communication services that help save lives and protect property.”

E-Comm’s board is comprised of 18 directors and includes elected officials, representatives of emergency services and the provincial government, in addition to municipal staff and local community and business leaders.

2015-2016 Board of Directors:

• Jocelyn Kelley, Independent Director, Board Chair
• Penny Ballem, representing City of Vancouver
• Gary Bass, representing RCMP
• Doug Campbell, Independent Director
• Barry Forbes, Independent Director
• Mayor Jack Froese representing Township of Langley, Cities of Surrey and White Rock
• Fire Chief Len Garis, representing Township of Langley, Cities of Surrey and White Rock
• Anne Kinvig, Independent Director
• Councillor Raymond Louie, representing Metro Vancouver
• Jack McGee, representing Independent Police Boards (Port Moody, West Vancouver, Transit Police, Abbotsford, New Westminster)
• Councillor Bill McNulty, representing City of Richmond
• Clayton Pecknold, representing Ministry of Justice
• Karl Preuss, representing The Corporation of Delta / Delta Police Board
• Patrick Quealey, representing Ministry of Justice
• Bob Rolls, representing Vancouver Police Board
• Kathy Steegstra, representing BC Emergency Health Services
• Councillor Mary Trentadue, representing Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Belcarra, New Westminster
• Mayor Richard Walton, representing District of North Vancouver, City of North Vancouver, District of West Vancouver, Village of Lions Bay

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E-Comm is the largest 9-1-1 call centre in B.C., answering approximately 1.25 million 9-1-1 calls each year for Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast and Squamish-Lillooet Regional Districts, the communities of Whistler and Squamish, and 18 regional districts within the northern, central and southern interiors and on northern Vancouver Island. E-Comm also provides dispatch services to 33 police and fire departments and operates the largest multi-jurisdictional, tri-service emergency radio system in the province.

Media contact: 
Jody Robertson
E-Comm Corporate Communications
604-215-4956
604-512-3242
[email protected]

Vancouver, B.C.—Northern Vancouver Island has become the second region in B.C. to provide people who are Deaf, Deaf-Blind, Hard-of-Hearing or Speech Impaired (DHHSI) with the ability to contact 9-1-1 through a new specialized text service, called “T9-1-1.” The service is available to residents living within the North Island 9-1-1 Corporation’s service area and is provided by E-Comm—the 9-1-1 answer point serving the North Island, Metro Vancouver and the northern, central and southern interiors of B.C.

“This is a critical move forward for individuals and families who are Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing and those with Speech Impairments,” said Denise Robertson, Executive Director at Island Deaf + Hard of Hearing Centre. “Access to 9-1-1 services must be easily and readily available to everyone, and now we have the technology to make this happen – and here it is. Ensuring safety and access to critical emergency services is paramount and we applaud E-Comm 9-1-1 for providing this service in the North Island area. We know that this will have a very positive impact in our communities and we hope to see this service available for the rest of Vancouver Island in the near future.”

Text with 9-1-1 (T9-1-1) allows any DHHSI person who has pre-registered their cellphone with their wireless carrier to communicate with police, fire and ambulance call-takers via text during an emergency. Callers must first place a voice call to 9-1-1 in order to establish a voice network connection and initiate the special messaging technology.

“T9-1-1 provides our DHHSI community with a better way of communicating with police, fire and ambulance call-takers in an emergency,” said Larry Samson, president of the North Island 9-1-1 Corporation. “I encourage residents with hearing or speech impairments to register for T9-1-1 with their wireless providers and to learn how the service works and what to expect if they need to use it.”

When E-Comm receives a 9-1-1 call from a DHHSI person who has pre-registered for the service, an alert will trigger at the 9-1-1 centre to indicate there is a DHHSI caller on the line. The 9-1-1 call-taker will then launch the special messaging system, allowing them to communicate with the caller through a special text session. This will ensure they get the emergency service they need.

The specialized technology was developed by Canada’s telecommunications services providers and is available in select parts of the country.

“E-Comm was pleased to be the first 9-1-1 centre in Canada to launch T9-1-1 and we are ready to provide this important service to DHHSI residents in the North Island 9-1-1 Corporation’s service area,” added Doug Watson, E-Comm’s vice-president of Operations. “We are proud to have played a part in the development of this service which is a significant improvement over outdated TTY (telephone typewriter) technology.”

It is important to emphasize that this service is only available to the DHHSI community. Voice calling remains the only way to communicate with 9-1-1 services for a person who is not Deaf, Deaf-Blind, Hard-of-Hearing or Speech Impaired. Text messages sent directly to the digits “9-1-1” do not reach emergency services anywhere in Canada. Text with 9-1-1 for the public-at-large is anticipated in the future as the nationwide 9-1-1 infrastructure evolves.

Members of the DHHSI community should visit www.TextWith911.ca to register their cellphones with their wireless service provider and to learn more about how the system works.

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In support of Speech and Hearing Awareness month in May, E-Comm would like to encourage DHHSI persons to register for  T9-1-1 and to learn how this service works and in the event of an emergency, how to use the service. A variety of public education materials are available online at ecomm911.ca. Materials include a special user guide, infographic with registration tips and step-by-step video in American Sign Language that shows you how to register, how to make a 9-1-1 call and what will happen when you dial 9-1-1 using the Text with 9-1-1 service.

E-Comm is the largest 9-1-1 call centre in B.C., serving Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast and Squamish-Lillooet Regional Districts, the communities of Whistler and Squamish, and 18 regional districts within the northern, central and southern interiors and on northern Vancouver Island. E-Comm also provides dispatch services to 33 police and fire departments throughout the Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast and Squamish-Whistler areas, and operates the wide-area radio system used throughout Metro Vancouver by police, fire and ambulance personnel.

The North Island 9-1-1 Corporation service area covers the regional districts of Comox Valley, Strathcona, Mt. Waddington, Alberni-Clayoquot and Powell River (excluding Lasqueti Island), in addition to a portion of the Nanaimo Regional District (School District 69).

Media Contacts:

E-Comm 9-1-1
Jody Robertson
604-215-4956 or 604-512-3242
[email protected]

Island Deaf + Hard of Hearing Center
Denise Robertson
[email protected]