Where does my 9-1-1 call go?

[RadioKid604]

Luckily, I haven't had to call 9-1-1 in quite a while, but I saw this article posted a month or so back, Chilliwack 911 calls soon to be dispatched out of Vancouver - Chilliwack Times .I read somehwere that all calls in BC (or maybe just metro vancouver) are directed to the ECOMM call centre located on Hastings across from the PNE. Anybody know how the calls are separated to other departments. (Example:I'm in Mission,BC, and I call 9-1-1 for a fire. Ecomm doesn't dispatch for Mission, they have their own or something, so how does Mission Fire get the information? Is the call just transferred via telephone to the Mission dispatch?) What I don't get with the article, is how does Chilliwack get's their RCMP calls now? Before, i'm assuming that the call went to Ecomm, then transferred to the chilliwack dispatch via the phone, then chilliwack would key their radio and send out the call, or something similar. Now, how is the call broadcasted to the units? Does ecomm now talk on their channel? Will there be a frequency change? I don't plan on calling 9-1-1 to see how everything goes (call being transfered, etc..) lol.

 

[Muffin]

Luckily, I haven't had to call 9-1-1 in quite a while, but I saw this article posted a month or so back, Chilliwack 911 calls soon to be dispatched out of Vancouver - Chilliwack Times .I read somehwere that all calls in BC (or maybe just metro vancouver) are directed to the ECOMM call centre located on Hastings across from the PNE. Anybody know how the calls are separated to other departments. (Example:I'm in Mission,BC, and I call 9-1-1 for a fire. Ecomm doesn't dispatch for Mission, they have their own or something, so how does Mission Fire get the information? Is the call just transferred via telephone to the Mission dispatch?) What I don't get with the article, is how does Chilliwack get's their RCMP calls now? Before, i'm assuming that the call went to Ecomm, then transferred to the chilliwack dispatch via the phone, then chilliwack would key their radio and send out the call, or something similar. Now, how is the call broadcasted to the units? Does ecomm now talk on their channel? Will there be a frequency change? I don't plan on calling 9-1-1 to see how everything goes (call being transfered, etc..) lol.

Yes Chilliwack's 9-1-1 dispatch centre, more commonly referred to as Fraser-Cheam Regional District 9-1-1 has transferred their dispatching services and 9-1-1 calls to ECOMM as of two weeks ago. There was an article in the Chilliwack Times about the impending change and move to ECOMM. To answer your question more directly, all 9-1-1 calls from the Upper Fraser Valley are now directed to a 9-1-1 calltaker at Ecomm who then determines which of the three emergency services you require. Should you require BC Ambulance your call OS transferred to the Ambulance Service call taker across the room.

Should you require the fire department, again your call is transferred across the room to the fire department call taker /dispatcher who then in turn will dispatch the call. This operator dispatches Mission-North Fraser, Chilliwack, Popkum, Ryder Lake, Cultus Lake, Columbia Valley, Aggasiz-Harrison, Hemlock Valley, Hope, Sunshine Valley, Dogwood Valley, Yale, Boston Bar and also has access to the Chehalis and Seabird Island Indian Band channels for fire pagers.

Should you request the RCMP, the call is then re-directed to the Chilliwack RCMP dispatch centre in Chillwack on Airport Road who then field the call and dispatch the appropriate units for the Chilliwack Detachment, Mission Detachment, Agassiz Detachment, HOPE Detachment, Boston Bar Detachment and the Fraser Valley Traffic Services and Hope Highway Patrols.

With the exception of the Abbotsford area, everything east of that point is still monitorable in plain voice on VHF

You may wish to try and locate the article from the Chilliwack Times for more localized information.


Hope this helps!

Cheers!

Sent from Muffin via Tapatalk

 

[Muffin]

Further to my last post, the other main emergency services 9-1-1 dispatch centre in the LOWER MAINLAND is located at the #1 Hall at the Surrey Fire Department. This dispatch centre is good competition for ECOMM and can hold their own with an impressive list of entities that they dispatch including but not limited to the following:

Surrey Fire Department, Langley City and Langley Township Fire Departments, Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge Fire Departments, the North Shore Departments (North Vancouver City and District Departments, West Vancouver, Bowen Island and Lions Bay), they also dispatch the entire Sea-to-Sky corridor for fire departments From Britannia Beach through Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, Seton Lake, D'Arcy, Lilliooet a couple of other volunteer departments throughout the area. They dispatch the White Rock fire department and then also dispatch the Surrey City Works (after hours), Surrey and White Rock Bylaws Officers, and Langley Public Works (after hours).

There are other 9-1-1 dispatch centres throughout the province with similar workloads o their shoulders too including Victoria, Campbell River and Kamloops to think of the other big 3.

Hope this helps too

Cheers!

Sent from Muffin via Tapatalk

 

[NedSem]

Apparently the Chilliwack RCMP and surrounding areas are now being dispatched out of the RRMP Green rivers facility in Surrey. Read a few months back that all their Chilliwack dispatchers were offered jobs there.
I also read that fire dispatch for FVRD (not sure if Abbotsford is included) is out of the FVRD office on Young Rd. in Chilliwack.

 

[RadioKid604]

Further to my last post, the other main emergency services 9-1-1 dispatch centre in the LOWER MAINLAND is located at the #1 Hall at the Surrey Fire Department. This dispatch centre is good competition for ECOMM and can hold their own with an impressive list of entities that they dispatch including but not limited to the following:

Surrey Fire Department, Langley City and Langley Township Fire Departments, Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge Fire Departments, the North Shore Departments (North Vancouver City and District Departments, West Vancouver, Bowen Island and Lions Bay), they also dispatch the entire Sea-to-Sky corridor for fire departments From Britannia Beach through Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, Seton Lake, D'Arcy, Lilliooet a couple of other volunteer departments throughout the area. They dispatch the White Rock fire department and then also dispatch the Surrey City Works (after hours), Surrey and White Rock Bylaws Officers, and Langley Public Works (after hours).

There are other 9-1-1 dispatch centres throughout the province with similar workloads o their shoulders too including Victoria, Campbell River and Kamloops to think of the other big 3.

Hope this helps too

Cheers!

Sent from Muffin via Tapatalk

Thanks.

The other day I heard the dispatcher say on Langley Fire, "The call taker is in kamloops, so we will try to get more information. Why would they get the call?
Kind of funny how Surrey fire is on the ECOMM WARS network, but isn't dispatched by them.
So to re-cap, does ECOMM in Vancouver get all emergency calls, and dispatch as needed? Example-if they answer the phone and someone needs RCMP & Fire in Surrey, does ECOMM dispatch the RCMP, and then transfer the call/or enter the info into computer, and send to Surrey Fire Dispatch? Does Surrey Fire Dispatch actually answer any 9-1-1 calls themselves, or just send out fire trucks with info that ecomm sent them? It's probably easy to understand and i'm just making it more confusing than it is!