Celebrating National Public Safety Communicators Week

North Bay Central Ambulance Communications Centre
News Release

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Emergency Communications Centres in North Bay are celebrating the second full week of April (April 12-18, 2010) as National Public Safety Communicators Week. This week honours the thousands of men and women who respond to emergency calls, dispatch emergency professionals and equipment, and render life-saving assistance to the world’s citizens.

In North Bay, there are three centres that provide emergency assistance, including:

• The North Bay Police, North Bay Fire and Emergency Services

• North Bay Central Ambulance Communications Centre

• Ontario Provincial Police, Provincial Communications Centre

Each centre will celebrate the week in house as well as joint events, including a press release about National Public Safety Communicators Week.

A social evening is also planed on Wednesday April 14, 2010 where Communicators from all three centres will get together to celebrate and meet the voices on the other end of the line. Although Communicators work together daily, they rarely meet face to face.

About the Emergency Communications Centres in North Bay:

North Bay Police, Fire and 911

The North Bay City Police and North Bay Fire and Emergency Services Communications Center is manned around the clock by qualified Telecommunicators who are ready to assist citizens with their emergencies or routine inquiries. They receive, record and disseminates 9-1-1 calls and information on
a 24-hour, 7-day per week (24/7) basis to respond to the public safety needs for the City of North Bay and Callander. They are the core of North Bay public safety, providing timely and seamless assistance to the citizens, as well as providing various support services to Police Officers and Firefighters.

The North Bay Police / North Bay Fire and Emergency Service Telecommunicators are usually the first responders to citizens’ calls for help. They are highly responsible, multi-functional professionals who must handle many tough requirements, often in crisis situations. The professional public safety Telecommunicators who answer these urgent calls, gather essential information, and dispatch the
appropriate assistance often make the difference between life and death for persons in need.

In 2008, our Communications Centre handled over 14,500 emergency calls on the Enhanced 9-1-1 (E-911) system. Telecommunicators also dispatched and co-ordinated the City's Police Patrol Officers to approximately 23,500 calls and the North Bay / Callander Firefighters to approximately 1,800 calls. For Police / Fire / Ambulance emergencies, call 9-1-1. For non-emergency or non-life threatening situations, we can be reached at Police: 472-1234 Fire: 472-1221.

www.northbaypolice.on.ca/communications_911

North Bay Central Ambulance Communications Centre

The North Bay Central Ambulance Communications Centre (CACC) provides emergency medical communications services twenty four hours a day, seven days a week for an area of approximately 60,000 square kilometers. This area includes the Districts of Nipissing, Parry Sound and Temiskaming,
which encompasses ambulance services in the communities of North Bay, Mattawa, Temagami, West Nipissing, Powassan, South River, Port Loring, Temiskaming Shores, Englehart and Kirkland Lake. Emergency First Response Teams (EFR) are also dispatched in the communities of East Ferris,
Phelps, Bear Island, Field, Latchford, Verner, Virginia Town and Larder Lake. Paging services for Fire Departments in the communities of Restoule, Argyle, East Ferris, Sundridge, Callander, Calvin and Papineau Cameron are also coordinated through the North Bay CACC.

Through state of the art computer aided dispatching, radio and telephone equipment, the Ambulance Communications Officers provide emergency call taking and dispatching as well as pre arrival instructions that include first aid as well as telephone CPR and choking protocols. Annually, 30,000 emergency calls for assistance are received on 911 lines, dedicated emergency lines as well as administrative and hospital lines.

The Ambulance Communications Officers coordinate the scheduling and movement of Ambulances for emergencies as well as local and long distance non emergency patient transfers on the Provincial Fleet Net radio system. With the assistance of the ORNGE Communications Centre, emergency calls and non-emergency long distance patient transfers are coordinated with both helicopters and fixed wing air ambulance resources.

In December 2009, the CACC was relocated to a new state of the art communications centre in North Bay.

www.northbay.ambulance.ca/CACC

OPP, PCC

OPP Provincial Communications Centre – North Bay (PCC). employs 98 civilian employees who provide service to the citizens of North-eastern Ontario and beyond. Calls for service, requests for information and emergency dispatches are handled through the PCC and in an average day call takers answer 1570 calls – on a peak day the call load can reach 3100 calls.

www.OPP.ca

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