911 Advisory Board Looks Addressing/Training/GIS

The Winston County 911 Advisory Board met on Wednesday morning without a full quorum. Several topics were up for discussion. They included the following:

·         Concern about the delay of the completion of GIS mapping for 911. Golden Triangle Planning and Development are contracted to provide 911 GIS maps for the County but have indicated that they may need an extension to complete the project.

·         EMA Director Buddy King provided information on first responder training.

·         There was discussion of the new digital radio system in use by the Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Jason Pugh indicated that they were quite happy with the service and that the use of digital radios had improved the coverage area in the County. He wanted to remind the public that while officers were still sometimes using analog radios, digital transmissions would not be heard on scanners. There is no code available for digital transmissions and as the department migrates away from analog radios, their transmissions will no longer be heard on scanners.

·         King also raised the issue of the use of 911 personnel to answer administrative calls to the Sheriff’s Department and Police Department, indicating that we needed to do more to educate the public about the use of 911. While the 911 Center is utilized for after-hours contact, too many daily calls for nonemergency situations are placed through the Center.

·         Problems with 911 addressing were also brought to the attention of the members. Many residences still do not have full 911 addresses marked appropriately. Reference was made to the County Ordinance requiring proper 911 addressing and possible fines that might be imposed. The question was raised as to who is responsible for enforcing this issue and problems that resulted from lack of 911 addressing was also discussed; including ambulance and fire personnel not being able to find the proper residence in the event of an emergency. Sheriff Pugh indicated that his office had lettering and supplies available to the public to assist in properly marking their residences.

·         Attendees also discussed the need for disaster exercises in the community. King indicated that EMA is required to do at least three exercises per year. He indicated that one must be done before June of this year. Previous exercises have been desktop exercises and it was a consensus of the group that a live disaster exercise should be considered in the future.