Changes coming for 911 call centre
Posted Jun 22, 2010 6:49 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Another review of Calgary’s 911 Call Centre is calling for more staff and better training. This comes on the heels of two high-profile incidents which caused delays from responders.
The first incident happened when 911 was called in response to an RCMP officer being stabbed at the ASIRT office downtown. A miscommunication by dispatchers resulted in police and EMS being sent to the wrong address.
The second incident occurred last week when a woman was redirected to call the non-emergency number after she called to report a man exposing himself to a 10-year-old girl at the Chinook School of Music.
Fire Chief Bruce Burrell says the new measures, which include standardizing a list of qualifying questions and reviewing protocols, are not a reflection on the work by call-takers at the 9-1-1 emergency center, but rather a way to augment their existing training.
Burrell adds there will always be a certain amount of errors when you are managing a call center that is the size of the one which operates to serve Calgary, however the new procedures are meant to minimize them.
