Agency Profile
Ogle County 911 has been handling emergency calls in Ogle County, Illinois, since March 1990. They currently process over 15,000 emergency calls a year. The 911 center dispatches fire, police, and rescue for emergency calls for 36 different departments.
In 1989, the Illinois General Assembly approved legislation allowing surcharge fees on landlines to support E911 systems. The added fee would help fund countywide enhanced 911 emergency call centers throughout the state. With funding now available, Ogle County began its transition to Total Response to complement its E911 system.
Challenge
Ogle County thoroughly assessed the various protocol systems available when initially looking into structured call handling. They found that only two leading companies offered national certification and met U.S. Department of Transportation standards. One of these was PowerPhone’s emergency call handling software, Total Response.
Solution
The sheer volume of having to dispatch for multiple Police, Fire, and EMS agencies means they needed a solution that would accommodate all aspects of an emergency, not just focusing on one discipline. While some companies require you to have three different software programs for Police, Fire, and EMS, Ogle County needed a product that would help them answer the call for any emergency without the need to toggle through programs. They had 36 different departments to keep in mind! They turned to PowerPhone’s Total Response solution to meet their needs.
An industry-leading evolution of standard desktop protocols, Total Response provided Ogle County with incident-specific lines of questioning and pre-arrival instructions for more than 90 emergency call types. The fully integrated solution delivered the tools and confidence to Ogle County dispatchers to answer any call that came their way, regardless of whether it was a Police, Fire, or Medical call. Additionally, the software’s ability to integrate with any CAD or third-party system was paramount in choosing Total Response. This allows the information gathered within Total Response to be instantly transferred to their Zuercher CAD and their responders on scene.
”One of the main aspects of the Total Response that made us choose this program was the ability to get information quickly and easily to our responders through our Zuercher CAD. This seamless connection makes the dispatch process efficient and effective.