The New Hanover County Public Safety Communications Center is a consolidated 911 emergency communications facility. All emergency 911 calls and dispatch communications for Police, Fire, and EMS calls for service are handled at the Center.
Located at 230 Government CenterDrive, the Center handles a variety of 911 emergency and general administrative calls. In a given 24-hour period, an average of more than four hundred (400) 911 calls are received in the Center from someone needing emergency assistance. The Center also receives approximately 1,000 calls a day from the public seeking other types of service and information. Calls for service include from vehicle accidents, breaking an entering, larcenies, suspicious subjects, check welfares, EMS calls and Fire calls. Once these calls are received, the appropriate emergency response agency is dispatched to the scene. Our Center dispatches for all Law Enforcement, EMS and Fire Departments within New Hanover County. Following is a list of the agencies that the Communications Center dispatches for:
Law Enforcement
- New Hanover County Sheriff's Department
- Wilmington City Police Department
- Kure Beach Police Department
- Carolina Beach Police Department
- Wrightsville Beach Police Department
- UNC-Wilmington Police Department
Emergency Medical Services - EMS
- New Hanover Health Network - EMS
Fire Departments
- Wilmington Fire Department
- New Hanover County Fire Services
Volunteer Fire Departments
- Wrightsboro Volunteer Fire Department
- Myrtle Grove Volunteer Fire Department
- Castle Hayne Volunteer Fire Department
- Ogden Volunteer Fire Department
- Carolina Beach Fire Department
- Kure Beach Fire Department
- Wrightsville Beach Fire Department
- Federal Point Volunteer Fire Department
When you call 911, you are greeted by trained, caring personnel that want to assist you in your emergency situation. Each telecommunicator is trained to assist with any type of emergency. Keeping the telecommunicators trained is one of the Centers internal priorities. When a new telecommunicator is hired, they spend 240 hours in a class room setting learning about the 911 emergency system, how to take and enter calls, and the basics of how the dispatch process operates. After completing the class room requirements, telecommunicators are transferred to the Center's radio room. Here the new telecommunicator begins 40 hours of supervised call-taking, answering live emergency and administrative calls. Once completed, the telecommunicator is released to complete 40 more hours of individual call taking. After graduating from training, the communicator is released to a shift and begins working towards obtaining required certifications. Completing the training process is a challenging experience for all future telecommunicators.
All telecommunicators are required to obtain several certifications within one year of employment. Three of the primary certifications that are required include:
- Telecomunicator Certification - granted by the North Carolina Sheriff's Education and Training Standards Commission under authority of Title 12, North Carolina Administrative Code, Subchapter 10B.
- EMD Certification - granted by the National Academy of Emergency Medical Dispatch. This certification also requires certification in CPR.
- EFD Certification - granted by the National Academy of Emergency Medical Dispatch.
- North Carolina DCI Certification - granted by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations, Division of Criminal Information
Also, each telecommunicator is required to become proficient on all consoles within the Center. This means all telecommunicators are able to answer 911 calls and dispatch emergency response agencies on all Law Enforcement, Fire, and EMS channels.
Generally, the Center is staffed with, at least, 11 telecommunicators on a 12 hour shift. Some telecommunicators operate the call-taking consoles, while others run the dispatch/radio consoles. Positions are rotated every six hours. Each telecommunicator uses a computer workstation running OSSI CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) software. Dispatchers utilize Motorola Gold Elite 800 MhZ radio consoles to communicate with response units.
The CAD software is an indispensable tool that allows telecommunicators to become very proficient in their job performance. CAD is used on every call answered to enter information from callers to create an "Event Incident Log." Depending on the nature of the call (Law, Fire or EMS) the call is prioritized and routed to the correct dispatcher/radio console for immediate dispatch. Dispatchers use CAD to dispatch, assign, and manage units in operation on the street. CAD also allows for previous calls to be researched and archived for future reference.
As the Center enters into the 21st century, we are committed to provide new technology and equipment that will ensure continued emergency communications support that the citizens of New Hanover County have come to expect.