A major change for 911 dispatches has expanded to over 60 agencies in northwestern Alberta after being first implemented in Grande Prairie.
Deputy Chief for the Grande Prairie Fire Department, Mark VanWerkhoven who also oversees Grande Prairie 911 (GP911), spoke on the changes, saying the system update will allow dispatchers to respond and delegate resources to emergency situations more efficiently.
VanWerkhoven says the Computer Aided Dispatch System (CAD) is the backbone of the 911 dispatch system, and the updates will allow dispatchers to better receive and respond to different emergencies based on key factors related to the situation.
“The system that was used prior has been used for well over a decade, [it was] a very venerable system with a lot of capabilities, this [current system] is taking us into the next generation of that,” VanWerkhoven tells MyGrandePrairieNow.
“This system provides that insight, that situational awareness, and ensures we get the right resources to the right place at the right time,” he adds.
Additionally, the new system features the ability for dispatchers to dictate the exact resources required based on different scenarios for 911 calls.
“That’s what this next generation of the system does for us is the ability to make intelligent and strategic decisions that are efficient to everybody in the areas that we cover,” VanWerkhoven says.
“For example, if there’s a certain type of motor vehicle collision that involves smoke or fluids down, that would dictate a certain response, or certain apparatus that responds to that such as hazmat,” he adds.
VanWerkhoven says GP911 provides 911 services and fire dispatch for 47 percent of Alberta’s northwestern land mass and includes over 60 different agencies that GP911 provides dispatch for.
“The scope and magnitude of this is quite significant,” VanWerkhoven says.
While the current CAD system is specific to initial 911 calls made to fire dispatch in GP, and doesn’t inherently extend to RCMP and EMS services, VanWerkhoven says the new system allows different agencies to share response request information, increasing further efficiency.
“It opens up the opportunity for us to do what’s referred to as a CAD to CAD interface with EMS, which means when they’re requesting medical co-response from a fire department, we’re getting that request digitally,” the Deputy Chief says.
Deputy Chief VanWerkhoven says CAD to CAD interfaces have already been implemented in numerous partner communities and the interface is expected to be up and running in Grande Prairie in the next few months.