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Elko County\u2019s new Next Generation 911 emergency calling system is a pioneer nationwide.<\/p>\n
When NexGen911 went online in May 2020 at dispatch centers in Elko and West Wendover, it was the first system nationwide to rely on iCloud storage.<\/p>\n
NextGen911 allows the county\u2019s 911 system to integrate wireless GPS information with mapping data from Apple and Google.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the system came online, there have been many calls where the GPS data provided through the NextGen911 system helped emergency responders get to callers faster than what was possible with the previous system,\u201d says Lee Cabaniss, director of the Elko County Ambulance Service and current chairman of the Elko County Enhanced 911 Advisory Board.<\/p>\n
With the new system, emergency services personnel can be sent to a specific location instead of being dispatched to a general location to search for the caller.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral law enforcement agencies also have been assisted by knowing where the caller was when a call was made,\u201d Lee says, noting it has \u201cmade apprehension of suspects possible or aided an investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dispatchers still ask callers questions, including phone number, location, and what resources are needed. Dispatchers also advise the caller what to do while waiting for emergency services to arrive.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important for 911 callers to still provide this information and answer questions as the dispatcher gathers information that is important to responders,\u201d Lee says.<\/p>\n Heather Neilson, lead dispatcher for the West Wendover Police Department, says she and other dispatchers are excited and thankful for the new system and the added safety it brings to our community.<\/p>\n \u201cThe system will enable us to process 911 calls directly from the caller without a transfer from an outside agency,\u201d Heather says. \u201cAt this time, we are still getting our cellular 911 calls from surrounding area transfers. We\u2019re waiting for the cellular providers to adjust our city boundaries so that we can get these calls. Once this happens, we\u2019ll be able to get help to those in need much faster. This means the world to our dispatchers.\u201d<\/p>\n Carlin Police Chief Kevin McKinney says the new system enhances officers\u2019 and emergency responders\u2019 efficiency and effectiveness.<\/p>\n \u201cTime is crucial during an emergency,\u201d Kevin says. \u201cWith the updated, enhanced 911 system, dispatchers can gather important information from callers without needing to ask time-consuming questions. The new system provides emergency responders with real-time information, such as GPS data on citizens in crisis, creating a quicker response and saving lives.\u201d<\/p>\n Lee says an advantage of the cloud-based system is it eliminates the need for a significant capital outlay to buy servers or other equipment that would eventually become outdated.<\/p>\n The system\u2019s annual maintenance cost of about $140,000 is paid for by surcharges on telephone and cellphone providers.<\/p>\n The project was funded by $432,000 in federal grants and $206,000 in donations from residents and businesses.<\/p>\n The NexGen911 system completes a mission launched five years ago when the county commissioners established the Enhanced 911 Advisory Board. The board was assigned the task of deciding whether to enhance the current 911 system or to advance to the Next Generation equipment and technology.<\/p>\n \u201cOur new system replaces a basic 911 system that was essentially 1960s\u2019 technology,\u201d Lee says.<\/p>\n The board members include a community member and representatives from the county\u2019s law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and emergency medical services agencies. Members write and update a five-year master plan that addresses current technology needs, future technology needs, projected costs, and future projects.<\/p>\n The board does not directly oversee the dispatch centers, Lee says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt assesses needs in those centers and works to provide technology and infrastructure upgrades to improve the 911 service,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n The county\u2019s Owyhee dispatch center on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation is pending.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope their vendor can start installation this summer,\u201d Lee says.<\/p>\n Upgrading the 911 system has been a team effort, Lee says. Local agencies and the community partnered with a project management firm, Winbourne Consulting, and a technology firm, NGA 911 LLC.<\/p>\n Lee says a lot of credit goes to Ben Reed and Annette Kerr. Ben was chairman of the advisory board before he retired in 2019 as Elko\u2019s police chief. While she was the county\u2019s emergency manager, Annette wrote federal grants to help fund the project.<\/p>\n Lee says he looks forward to future upgrades as phone carriers update information.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll eventually have additional features including texting to 911 and sending photos or video to 911,\u201d he says. \u201cThe system is functioning well. We\u2019re grateful to have it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pioneering system is designed to speed up emergency response times By Dianna Troyer Elko County\u2019s new Next Generation 911 emergency calling system is a pioneer nationwide. When NexGen911 went online in May 2020 at dispatch centers in Elko and West Wendover, it was the first system nationwide to rely on iCloud storage. NextGen911 allows the […]\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":34064,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218,220],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34063"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-content\/uploads\/April2021-next-generation-911_2-321x340.jpg\")
Five-Year Task Fulfilled<\/h2>\n
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