About Madison Co Consolidated 911 Center - Alabama's Largest

[emcom]

Here is a video about our system. The video is a few years old, but it basically the same today....with several upgrades. This gives you the behind the scenes look at what you are hearing on the radio.
http://www.hsvpolice.com/Audio_Video/911_center_overview.wmv

 

[MFRD8539]

I've heard about Madison claiming to be the largest in the state. What's the basis for this? Size of the facility? Number of employees? Call volume? I'm pretty sure Mobile is the largest having been inside both.

 

[comp2x2]

Are 911 call takers typically different than the dispatchers?

 

[emcom]

I've heard about Madison claiming to be the largest in the state. What's the basis for this? Size of the facility? Number of employees? Call volume? I'm pretty sure Mobile is the largest having been inside both.

Interesting question. I will have to ask. I've just always heard that information and heard it on the video as well.

Perhaps it has something to do with number of agencies with dispatchers? Our county-wide ambulance service, county volunteer fire departments, 2 city police departments, county sheriff, and city fire have dispatchers present in the center and the 911 center employs 911 operators too for a total of 7 agencies.

Mobile lists that they have: "MCCD houses the Mobile County Sheriffs office, Mobile County Emergency Medical Services, 911 Operators, Mobile Fire Department and Mobile Police Department." - a total of 5 agencies.

 

[emcom]

Are 911 call takers typically different than the dispatchers?

In some places, they are the same people...in other places, call takers may not get on the radio at all. Huntsville at one time had 2 different pay scales...one for call takers and another for dispatchers that also could take calls. Dispatchers made more because they had to have training for the radio.

 

[kf4lhp]

Where I used to work, some of the agencies before consolidation employed people who only answered phones, and others who could dispatch and answer phones. Afterwards, new hires were trained on the phones, then moved on to train on the radio so that after a year on the job they should be able to handle either.

My preference was always the radio.