Citizens in York and James City counties will soon be able to send photos and videos to 911.
Emergency Communications staff have been looking into implementing Next Generation 911, an Internet Protocol system that allows digital information — including texts, photos and video — to flow from the public through the 911 network and to emergency responders.
York County received a federal grant with matching funds about 18 months ago, said Terry Hall, chief of emergency communications for the York-Poquoson-Williamsburg Emergency Communications Center, but he had to wait for the technology to catch up before he could start using it.
“It’s an evolutionary process,” he said, adding many emergency communications units and 911 centers are still working with a telephone system from the 1960s.
Eighteen states have launched the text to 911 feature, which allows citizens to text if unable to call 911.
York County is among three Virginia localities that have 911 texting capabilities. York County was the first in the nation to partner with Verizon Wireless, and other carriers were added earlier this summer.
Hall said about a dozen people have used the text service validly since its installation.
James City County’s emergency communications center works hand-in-hand with York County. The two centers are backups for each other, James City County Emergency Communications Center Director Julie McKercher said. If for any reason James City County’s emergency call center were to become inoperable, 911 calls would be sent seamlessly to York County’s call center.
Five sites across the U.S. — in Washington, Montana, New York, Indiana and Minnesota — were designated as laboratory tests for the initiative and focused on developing the system, conducting a demonstration and assessing the cost, value and risk of the system.
When successfully implemented, Next Generation 911 will be able to handle a 911 call from a digital assistant or computer, receive automatic crash notification data such as speed or crash velocity, receive photo images and video, receive medically relevant data and send text messages to citizens with advice on hazards and evacuation, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration.
The next step in York County is to meet with James City County’s emergency communications team, Information Technology staff and system vendors for a kickoff meeting that will analyze the call centers’ current infrastructure and technology and create a plan for implementation of Next Generation 911.
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