Last Tuesday, British Columbia’s largest emergency communications company, E-Comm, announced they would be taking on all 9-1-1 calls from the central and southern interiors.
Although this is a change that will be transparent to residents who can continue to dial 9-1-1 for emergencies, it is a significant shift that will result in a quicker initial emergency response.
“E.Comm is the largest 9-1-1 answer point in the province,” E.Comm Director of Corporate Communications Jody Robertson said. “We have the greatest number of 9-1-1 call takers available to answer those calls and to get them quickly transferred to local dispatch centres.”
She went on to say, “This is really important when there’s a sudden and unexpected influx of 9-1-1 calls.”
All calls are routed to the same local police, fire and ambulance dispatchers, but with E.Comm’s services, individuals who specialize in emergency response will answer 95 per cent of incoming 9-1-1 calls in five seconds or less.
“We have the toughest standards in North America and we consistently meet or exceed those standards,” Robertson said, adding that last year their target was to answer 98 per cent of calls in five seconds or less. “We have more than 14 million 9-1-1 calls under our belt and we’re very prepared and very enthusiastic to partner with the regional district in the central and southern interiors.”