‘If we can’t find you, we can’t help you’

WALDO COUNTY, ME — Help us help you.

That’s the message coming from local dispatchers, police, fire and ambulance workers from around the county, who say they sometimes struggle to find those who call 911 in an emergency because their house numbers are outdated, not easily visible, or, in some cases, not displayed at all.

Owen Smith, director of the Waldo County Regional Communications Center, says
the enhanced 911 system is always improving in terms of being able to accurately trace the location of an incoming call, but when it comes time to locate someone in the event of a crisis, emergency workers could use a little help from the locals.

“It is a problem,” said Smith. “We’ve got houses out on the East Waldo Road that still have RR 5 numbers on them. When we changed out the system, the towns went to all numbered roads.”

The Emergency Services Communication Bureau, the state agency responsible for Enhanced 911 in Maine announced that all of Maine’s population had enhanced 911 service by July of 2008. In the years prior to that time, Smith said, towns around the state crafted ordinances, logged changes to road names and updated town records with additional names of private ways, which Smith said must carry an official road name if there are more than two residences located on the same driveway.

During that preparatory process, Smith said some towns went the extra mile to make sure all residents would update their house numbers.

“Some towns furnished the numbers, and the people just went in [to the town office] and got them,” recalled Smith.

In towns where the numbers were not provided, Smith said some residents did adequately outfit their homes with the new numbers, and did so in the way that was dictated by the Maine Department of Public Safety Emergency Services Communication Bureau. Some specifications from the bureau include using reflective material to mark homes, driveway entrances and both sides of mailboxes with the new numbers.

Some took the switch over quite seriously. Smith said one man from Jackson was concerned enough about the ability of police, ambulance or fire crews to find him in an emergency, he contacted the county communications center to make sure the address that showed up in the E911 system when he called in was indeed the correct one.

Because the enhanced system uses several tools, including a mapping program, to pinpoint the exact location of a caller using a land line, Smith said the system is quite accurate in terms of showing a dispatcher where a call is coming from.

Land lines versus cell phones

While Smith said the system in general has improved significantly over the years, E911 is not fool-proof.

Smith said one problem he is seeing a lot these days is the increased preference of the public to use a cell phone in lieu of a home phone.

“Cell phones can be a challenge. One of the smartest things people can do is to call in and see what happens when you call 911,” said Smith, adding that residents wishing to do so should call WCRCC at 338-2040, and not by dialing 911.

That way, said Smith, residents will know how well the E911 system can track them down when they are using a cell phone.

The reasons for this, said Smith, are many. Those using an internet-based phone service like Vonage, he said, can run into trouble if they opt to use their computer, phone or both at a location that differs from their home address.

“If your Vonage line is at 446 Swan Lake Avenue, you could take your computer and your phone into Belmont but the address would still show up as Swan Lake Avenue,” said Smith.

Cell phone calls coming in from people who use either Verizon or AT&T as a provider, said Smith, automatically get sent to the state regional call center in Augusta. That means a caller must go through the initial motions of offering basic details about the nature of their call before they are switched over to the WCRCC, at which time they must begin the call process over again.

But that, said Smith, is expected to change.

“Within the next year we will be receiving Verizon and AT&T [calls],” said Smith, adding that the only cell phone provider that does get directly connected to WCRCC is U.S. Cellular.

But even cell phones provided by U.S. Cellular can prolong response time for emergency crews, said Smith, because “cell phones do not give you an exact location like a land line does.”

Typically, when someone typically calls 911 from a cell phone, Smith said the E911 mapping system will offer the dispatcher a general location, usually within a couple of houses.

“As we re-ping it, it may come in a bit closer,” said Smith.

Smith said WCRCC dispatchers are trained to deal with such situations, and often take several steps to make sure they know the precise location of a caller.

“We ask you to verify the address that you’re calling from,” said Smith. “If our screen shows us you’re at 208, and you’re saying you’re at 206, we’re going to ask if you’re sure you’re at 206 because our system is showing you at 208.”

Read the full story here.

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