Baker Integrated Technologies
makes communicating easy.
There was a time, not many years ago, when a Jeff Davis County resident who had an emergency situation in the middle of the night would have their call answered by the Sheriff’s wife on a single line telephone. Help was then dispatched over a lone radio channel that provided coverage for the entire county. Today, Jeff Davis County, located in the middle of Southeast Georgia, boasts one of the most efficient E9-1-1 centers in that part of the country as well as a staff with the highest level of training in Georgia. All Jeff Davis communications officers are certified and have a minimum of 40 hours dispatcher training. Additionally, they are EMD trained and receive First Responder CPR training as well as extensive in-house training on call handling.
Sheriff Jimmy Boatright and Hazlehurst Police Chief Steve Land were long time advocates of enhanced 9-1-1, so when county residents voted to implement E9-1-1, their efforts finally paid off. "Several times, our basic 9-1-1 system did not provide that missing link in emergencies - the address of the incident," commented Police Chief Land. "Sheriff Boatright and myself are very pleased that we now have Enhanced 9-1-1 and the ability to know the specific address of the emergency."
Lonnie Roberts, Jeff Davis County administrator, and his committee hired Doy Clifton as the new E9-1-1 director for the county. Clifton retired from Lucent Technologies with more than 30 years experience in PBX technologies and provided the county with expertise in communications and PBX installations. His role with the county was to work with BellSouth to build the 9-1-1 database, select and implement the communications equipment and run the centralized dispatch center operations.
When Clifton began his search for equipment, he had a vision of the new center’s capabilities. Clifton wanted the most advanced technology available to provide the county with a fully integrated solution that would integrate radio, 9-1-1, administrative telephone, TDD, instant recall record, tone paging and computer aided dispatch (CAD). His vision also included a fiber optic network connecting all of the various public safety agencies. Until recently, only larger and more affluent communities could afford this type of advanced communications equipment.
Clifton was convinced there was a viable, cost-effective solution in the marketplace. His search for an integrated solution was quickly narrowed to one product that offered the complete package he sought. That product, DISPATCHWorks from Baker Integrated Technologies, located in Norcross, Georgia, met all of Clifton’s integration requirements, including an application protocol interface (API) that would provide a CAD vendor with the necessary information to integrate functionality of their CAD system with the DISPATCHWorks system.
On March 1, 1999, the Jeff Davis County DISPATCHWorks system went live, bringing the county into the high tech world of Enhanced 9-1-1.
The new centralized center is equipped with a three-position DISPATCHWorks communication system that provides four E9-1-1 trunks, 20 analog telephone lines, and eight radio channels, including four trunking radios. Additional system features include TDD, instant recall recording, and tone paging at each station.
According to Clifton, one year after cutover, the response times to calls has been reduced, and the efficiency of the responding units is improved. "All law enforcement, EMS and fire department heads frequently discuss the increased efficiency of their people," said Clifton. "The specific location information, along with directions and pre-arrival instructions on EMS calls, have boosted the quality of our emergency response system tremendously."
Clifton is working closely with the department heads as he implements the county’s new CAD system. Solutions 2000, a Fort Payne, Alabama software company, is presently installing a CAD system that includes a full records management system (RMS). The law enforcement, fire, and EMS agencies will be able to access the CAD and RMS records through the new fiber optic network that the county has installed. The efficiency of accessing CAD records by way of the fiber optic network will have a tremendously positive impact on all of the agencies’ administrative duties.
Even though Jeff Davis County is a rural Georgia county, they are currently utilizing the most advanced PSAP equipment available in the marketplace. "Small communities no longer have to take a back seat where technology is concerned," says Clifton. "Companies like Baker have made it possible to bring the integrated solution to even the smallest community."
Today, Mrs. Boatright doesn’t have to worry about getting an emergency call in the middle of the night. Her husband, Sheriff Boatright, can rest easy knowing that his county is served by a staff of experts using the latest technology available.
About the Author: Doy Clifton is the E9-1-1 director for Jeff Davis County’s centralized dispatch center, providing service for a population of 14,000 residents.
Copyright 2001 Baker Integrated Technologies, LLC. All rights reserved. Site updated 2/19/01.
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