While there’s a generation gap when it comes to rotary-dial landline telephones and digital or even voice-activated cellphones, telephone numbers have been part of our lives since Alexander Graham Bell’s first call to Watson in 1876.
Over the years, several telephone numbers have emerged as part of our cultural lexicon.
• In the 1940s, Big Band leader Glenn Miller made New York City’s Pennsylvania Hotel famous with a song about the telephone number “Pennsylvania 6-5000.”
• Alfred Hitchcock abbreviated the use of a telephone number in 1954 with “Dial M for Murder.”
• In the 1960s in Mayberry, N.C., Sheriff Andy Taylor would merely pick up the receiver and say, “Sarah, get me my house.”
• In 1962, The Marvelettes hit it big with the telephone number song “Beechwood 4-5789.”
• By the 1970s, the fictional 555 telephone prefix was being popularized for TV and movies.
• Tommy Tutone’s 1981 song about Jenny’s telephone number is probably the most memorable: 867-5309.
• Then in 1999, the U.S. officially adopted 911 as the nationwide emergency number.
And within the next two months, the Sequoyah County 911 office — which fields any 911 call initiated in the county for all 21 fire departments, Pafford EMS and all law enforcement except Sallisaw Police Department — will undergo a $125,000 remodel and update to its offices at 106 E. Creek Avenue in Sallisaw, “to ensure the county’s 911 center is ADA-compliant,” 911 coordinator David Slaughter recently told the Sequoyah County Commissioners.
The remodel, which will expand some of the current offices, is funded through an 80/20 grant, so 911 is responsible for 20% of the project’s cost, “about $25,000,” which Slaughter specified is paid by 911, not the county.
“You won’t have to pay a thing,” Slaughter told the commissioners.
“Because of our increased emergency dispatch responsibilities, we need more space, better seating and upgraded equipment,” Slaughter says. “The first step is the expansion of the dispatch room itself. Making the room larger, adding carpet, sound-proofing the walls and then installing ergonomic desks. Desks will raise, lower, have light, heat and a fan built in. Sitting in a chair for eight hours is not healthy physically or mentally.
“We have received an 80/20 grant from the Oklahoma 911 Authority to pay for this remodel. Even though the state authority is picking up 80%, the remaining 20% will come out of 911 funds, which we would normally use to provide more pay to employees. So the 20% is costly, but the remodel is necessary,” Slaughter says.
“We anticipate applying for more grants to improve the radio dispatch, CAD, phone system, COOP requirements and training. The training grant is 100%, while the others are 80/20, so it will be a hardship to our [agency] to obtain these required improvements. We will have to figure out a way.”
Beyond the remodel In addition to the remodel, which is expected to be complete by September 30, Slaughter explained that while fielding emergency telephone calls is the most prominent aspect of how the agency is viewed by the public, there’s much more that’s expected of his staff.
The Oklahoma 911 Authority requires that goals be met to maintain a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), including:
• Training a minimum of 40 hours for certified dispatcher course, telecommunication CPR (T-CPR), emergency medical dispatch (EMD), emergency fire dispatch (EFD), emergency police dispatch (EPD)
• The way calls are received and dispatched in a PSAP
• Next-Gen mapping
• Type of equipment each PSAP is required to have In addition to updating its facilities and meeting state requirements, the county 911 office must stay abreast of the latest technology and stay ahead of the curve for emergency dispatch services.
“Technology advances in the past 5 to 10 years have enabled call location in less than a minute in most situations, tracking of your movement if you are driving, group text messaging to responding units, tracking of those responding units, the ability to receive texts and photos/videos of locations,” Slaughter explains.
“Our current equipment is solid, but needs an upgrade to meet all the standards. Capital improvement projects are difficult to budget for. The state of Oklahoma and the FCC set our service rates. Unlike most businesses, if I need money, I cannot raise the rate charged on your cellphone. I get the same amount of money that I have for the past two years, and we are required to make these changes based on that amount. We have reached agreements with some of our agencies to provide dispatch services for a price, and that supplements our income.”
Those who have watched area newscasts lately are aware that Fort Smith is building a combined dispatch center for law enforcement, fire and EMS, partly because of the financial savings, but also due to the fact a combined center is the most efficient way to dispatch emergency services.
“There’s no transferring of phone calls, the caller does not have to repeat himself, a unified center can dispatch fire, EMS and law enforcement to a single call if it is required, seamlessly, and the information sharing in one room is more effective for responding units,” Slaughter points out.
Throughout the current remodel process, the Sequoyah County 911 will continue to serve those in need of emergency services. And once the remodel is complete, the 911 staff will be able to provide its critical services with a little more elbow room and a little more comfort as they field calls which can often mean the difference between life and death.
