The 911 Center is inside Chatham County’s state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center (EOC) located on Innovation Way in Pittsboro, which opened in May.
The main benefit to the new center is its capacity, expanding from six telecommunicator consoles to the capability of operating 16 consoles. Other enhancements include more resiliency and redundancy with improved phone and network connections, more space, better ergonomics for telecommunicators, and natural light. Each console has a status light, which illuminates green when a telecommunicator is available and turns red when the telecommunicator is on a call.
“This is an exciting day for Chatham County Emergency Communications and the entire community,” said Mike Reitz, Chatham County Emergency Communications Director. “Our new center will allow us the capability to expand over many decades as Chatham County continues to grow. We are already seeing an increase in calls not only from the community, but also from our partner emergency response agencies as they grow as well.”
Telecommunicator Mariah Brown, who has been with Chatham County Emergency Communications for about a year, took the first 911 call. “I really like helping the community, and going home at the end of the day knowing I helped at least one person, makes me feel good,” said Brown. “Being in the new 911 Center is great; everything is so nice, and the building is much bigger.”
Chatham County Emergency Communications offers a fast, effective communications link between the residents of Chatham County and emergency response personnel, 24 hours a day. The 911 Center has experienced, certified telecommunicators who dispatch for multiple agencies, including Fire, EMS, Rescue, and Law Enforcement. The 911 Center is the primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) of Chatham County.
