Columbia County, ny
9-1-1 Emergency Communications Department
The roles, responsibilities, and duties of the Columbia County 911 Department are often overlooked. Our work doesn’t put us in front of cameras or on the front page of the newspaper very often. We don’t routinely issue a press release when we have a big call or participate in a particularly difficult incident. We are often forgotten when the thank you letters are written and the certificates handed out. That’s probably because the very nature of our work puts us “behind the scenes”. We are known by our voices, not our faces. We respond to emergencies from inside a dark, controlled communications center. We aren’t out in the public operating with red lights, sirens and flashy graphics. But don’t be mistaken, the role the 911 dispatcher plays in an incident, and the public safety system as a whole, can mean the difference between life and death.
The Columbia County 911 Department is the lifeline between our residents and emergency responders. We take the safety and well-being of our responders very seriously. Our dispatchers are all highly trained and use state-of-the-art equipment and technology to provide expedient and professional care to those in need.
Whether the emergency is fire, medical or police related, our staff is trained to respond. All Columbia 911 dispatchers are certified Advanced Emergency Medical Dispatchers. This advanced certification allows our dispatchers to provide enhanced care, such as aspirin therapy to chest pain patients, that other dispatch centers may not. Dispatchers provide CPR, choking, child birth, hemorrhage control, and other life saving instruction when needed. Columbia County 911 does all emergency police dispatching for Columbia County. Calls are assigned to the closest available police unit, regardless of agency (Sheriff, State Police, local police), using a “polling” process. All of our dispatchers are trained at the “Advanced Law Enforcement Dispatch” level. This training prepares our staff to effectively deal with hysterical callers, assaults, robberies, domestic violence, officer safety issues, bomb threats and other emergency police situations.
When there is a fire, time is of the essence. Columbia 911 dispatchers are trained to process fire calls quickly to provide fire departments the best possible chance to stop the fire before it becomes out of control. Our dispatchers are trained to identify the location of the fire, account for all parties that may be in danger and to provide callers with instructions to keep them safe and out of danger while the fire department responds.
But not everything we do at Columbia County 911 involves dispatching responders. There are a whole host of functions we are responsible for, that many people don’t realize. The Columbia County 911 Department is the official National Weather Service warning point for the County. Dispatchers are responsible for monitoring severe weather outbreaks and warning emergency response personnel of threatening weather situations. Our staff disseminates severe weather bulletins via the radio, text notification and our social media pages. During Hurricane Irene, our department spent countless hours at an elevated level of readiness, responding to hundreds of calls for service and serious, potentially life threatening, situations.
The Columbia County 911 Department is responsible for activating the Emergency Alert System (EAS) for Columbia County. Should a serious situation occur that requires immediate, mass notification (e.g. life threatening hazardous materials incident, event requiring large-scale emergency evacuation, etc.) the Columbia County 911 Department would, on the orders of the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, activate the EAS and broadcast an audio message over regional television and radio systems with details and instructions for the public.
The Columbia County 911 Department is also responsible for issuing all physical addresses in the County. Whether it’s a new house, a shopping mall, or a new road, the Columbia County 911 Department is responsible for assigning the addresses. Using standardized procedures and formulas, the 911 Director and dispatchers work cooperatively to ensure all address projects are completed in a timely and professional manner. Our staff updates address databases and notifies other agencies (e.g. Columbia County Real Property, phone companies, etc.) as appropriate. Working with the public in this manner not only assures a consistent assignment of street addresses, it also allows dispatchers to educate new homeowners on the importance of properly displaying their street address, so that emergency crews can find them quickly in the event of an emergency.
Our Department also maintains the County Emergency Communications Radio Network (responsible for equipment at 5 tower sites), acts as liaison between the County fire departments and Motorola radio repair, oversees the maintenance of the 911 telephone network at the Hudson Police Department, operates the County EMS system status management plan, maintains a field communications unit and a fixed secondary 911 dispatch site to provide redundant back-up in case of system failure, and provides text notifications and updates to the County’s public safety managers and Town Supervisors for incidents of significance. We also participate in County fire schools and EMT classes, educating responders on the concepts and principles of effective communication. We conduct public outreach and education at the Columbia County Fair, local community days and other events. And you’d probably be surprised to learn that we do all of this, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, with a staff of just 11 dispatchers and 1 Director. That’s it. No support or clerical staff of any kind. We do it all and we’re pretty proud of that!
The Columbia County 911 Department is the lifeline between our residents and emergency responders. We take the safety and well-being of our responders very seriously. Our dispatchers are all highly trained and use state-of-the-art equipment and technology to provide expedient and professional care to those in need.
Whether the emergency is fire, medical or police related, our staff is trained to respond. All Columbia 911 dispatchers are certified Advanced Emergency Medical Dispatchers. This advanced certification allows our dispatchers to provide enhanced care, such as aspirin therapy to chest pain patients, that other dispatch centers may not. Dispatchers provide CPR, choking, child birth, hemorrhage control, and other life saving instruction when needed. Columbia County 911 does all emergency police dispatching for Columbia County. Calls are assigned to the closest available police unit, regardless of agency (Sheriff, State Police, local police), using a “polling” process. All of our dispatchers are trained at the “Advanced Law Enforcement Dispatch” level. This training prepares our staff to effectively deal with hysterical callers, assaults, robberies, domestic violence, officer safety issues, bomb threats and other emergency police situations.
When there is a fire, time is of the essence. Columbia 911 dispatchers are trained to process fire calls quickly to provide fire departments the best possible chance to stop the fire before it becomes out of control. Our dispatchers are trained to identify the location of the fire, account for all parties that may be in danger and to provide callers with instructions to keep them safe and out of danger while the fire department responds.
But not everything we do at Columbia County 911 involves dispatching responders. There are a whole host of functions we are responsible for, that many people don’t realize. The Columbia County 911 Department is the official National Weather Service warning point for the County. Dispatchers are responsible for monitoring severe weather outbreaks and warning emergency response personnel of threatening weather situations. Our staff disseminates severe weather bulletins via the radio, text notification and our social media pages. During Hurricane Irene, our department spent countless hours at an elevated level of readiness, responding to hundreds of calls for service and serious, potentially life threatening, situations.
The Columbia County 911 Department is responsible for activating the Emergency Alert System (EAS) for Columbia County. Should a serious situation occur that requires immediate, mass notification (e.g. life threatening hazardous materials incident, event requiring large-scale emergency evacuation, etc.) the Columbia County 911 Department would, on the orders of the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, activate the EAS and broadcast an audio message over regional television and radio systems with details and instructions for the public.
The Columbia County 911 Department is also responsible for issuing all physical addresses in the County. Whether it’s a new house, a shopping mall, or a new road, the Columbia County 911 Department is responsible for assigning the addresses. Using standardized procedures and formulas, the 911 Director and dispatchers work cooperatively to ensure all address projects are completed in a timely and professional manner. Our staff updates address databases and notifies other agencies (e.g. Columbia County Real Property, phone companies, etc.) as appropriate. Working with the public in this manner not only assures a consistent assignment of street addresses, it also allows dispatchers to educate new homeowners on the importance of properly displaying their street address, so that emergency crews can find them quickly in the event of an emergency.
Our Department also maintains the County Emergency Communications Radio Network (responsible for equipment at 5 tower sites), acts as liaison between the County fire departments and Motorola radio repair, oversees the maintenance of the 911 telephone network at the Hudson Police Department, operates the County EMS system status management plan, maintains a field communications unit and a fixed secondary 911 dispatch site to provide redundant back-up in case of system failure, and provides text notifications and updates to the County’s public safety managers and Town Supervisors for incidents of significance. We also participate in County fire schools and EMT classes, educating responders on the concepts and principles of effective communication. We conduct public outreach and education at the Columbia County Fair, local community days and other events. And you’d probably be surprised to learn that we do all of this, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, with a staff of just 11 dispatchers and 1 Director. That’s it. No support or clerical staff of any kind. We do it all and we’re pretty proud of that!
