Luzerne County 911 center shows off $350K upgrades

As Luzerne County’s 911 center nears its 25th anniversary, the large emergency dispatch room at the heart of the operation has been remodeled to better accommodate the high-stress work.

Some county officials toured the Hanover Township facility last week at the public invitation of county 911 Executive Director Fred Rosencrans, who accepted their proclamation for National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.

With the push of a button, workers in the updated dispatch room can adjust the height of their desks and multiple computer monitors, including an option making them high enough to stand while processing calls.

Another button operates a heater under each station to provide added warmth without the risk of a portable space heater.

A large border on one wall reads, “Heroes Behind the Headsets.”

Also new is a giant screen at each station. There are also three other monitors and a large half-screen — all containing essential data.

Supervisors are integrated with telecommunicators in the new layout.

Lights above each station tell others across the room if workers are taking an emergency call (green), speaking over the radio with outside agencies (blue) or summoning others for assistance (red).

As a tour group passed through the room Thursday, one of the telecommunicators calmly talked a caller through the steps to monitor breathing of someone who had collapsed. He provided frequent updates on the status of emergency responders headed to the scene, watching their movement on his monitor.

Rosencrans showed visitors a map pinpointing the location of an emergency — in this case a brush fire — and which responders were already there or en route. Workers can zoom in to view structures up close if necessary.

Overhead screens show changing counts of the types of calls coming in so workers can detect developing large-scale emergencies at a glance. Various television screens allow monitoring of news stations as events are unfolding.

The new flooring is raised to accommodate extensive cabling beneath, Rosencrans said.

‘We didn’t miss a beat’

Dispatch staffers operated out of a center training room and the county Emergency Management Agency’s offsite backup response center for 18 days while the dispatch room was gutted, remodeled and outfitted with new furniture, Rosencrans said.

“It was the first time in 25 years since the center went live that the main dispatch floor was completely shut down for renovations,” Rosencrans said. “We didn’t miss a beat.”

The $350,000 project was covered by state 911 fee funding, he said.

Stopping in the network room, Rosencrans showed an array of computers servers and other vital equipment. It is not on the county’s network — a safeguard that paid off several years ago when the county was hit with a cyberattack, he said. A powerful back-up generator also is in place to keep systems operating for an extended period if there is a power failure. he said.

Council reaction

Council members Brian Thornton and John Lombardo participated in one of the earlier tours Thursday along with county Acting Manager Brian Swetz and other representatives of the administration.

Thornton said he appreciated the opportunity to check out the renovation and other system upgrades.

He was pleased to witness dispatchers rapidly pinpointing emergency locations within the 906-square-mile county.

“I am very impressed with the entire upgrade. It takes the county to the very top of new technology out there,” Thornton said. “The result is a leading edge 911 program which improves the overall safety of the public as well as first responders.”

Lombardo, who works as an emergency responder and serves as council vice chairman, said it was interesting to see how calls are processed, describing the dispatch room as the “central nervous system.”

“This is really state-of-the-art. I’m very impressed. As a county, we should be very proud,” Lombardo said. “We need the best equipment for this valuable public service and to provide employees with a good environment to work.”

Staffing shortage

Due to a 911 staffing shortage crisis, the department’s managers and supervisors have been assisting with emergency call-taking and dispatch, Rosencrans said last month.

As of last week, half of the telecommunicator positions — 32 of 64 —were vacant.

He has exhaustively advertised the openings through the radio, television, newspapers, social media and billboards around the county.

In a union contract county council approved last year, the starting salary for telecommunicator trainees increased from $32,900 ($15.81/hour) to $37,500 ($18/hour). The position is posted at luzernecounty.org.

Council members Carl Bienias III, Matthew Mitchell and Gregory S. Wolovich Jr. attended a Thursday evening tour that Wolovich described as an “eye opening experience.”

“Receiving a behind-the-scenes view of our dedicated, hardworking heroes on the front lines keeping us all safe makes one realize the true importance of the department that connects our law enforcement and first responders across all corners of Luzerne County,” Wolovich said. “Our recent cutting-edge technological improvements will go the extra mile to improve response times and keep our responders even safer. I am eternally grateful for those putting in long, hard days keeping us safe every day.”

Bienias also stressed the importance of the center and its workers.

“We have a great team at 911 who really do a fantastic job and work very hard,” Bienias said. “I was impressed with the facility and am very proud of all first responders in Luzerne County. I am happy to support them in any way I can.”

Mitchell said many overlook 911 telecommunicators when they think of first responders.

“These 911 responders are just as important. They’re like the lifeline connecting all emergency services together. I think they deserve all the credit they can get,” he said. “I don’t think I could do that job.”

Mitchell said he was informed during the tour that seasoned telecommunicators often experience post-traumatic stress helping callers get through horrible situations. He was touched to see an area carved out for workers to privately collect themselves after particularly emotional encounters.

25 years of service

The 911 center opened in June 1998 and provides police, fire and emergency medical dispatching for 175 agencies throughout the county.

It is one of the top 15 busiest of the 62 countywide dispatch centers in the state, processing an average 430,000 emergency and non-emergency calls annually, Rosencrans said.

Last year, the county activated a new communications system that included additional communication towers in new locations, improved microwaves and the replacement of a 20-year-old analog radio system with a new digital one for law enforcement and emergency responders to exchange messages.

It corrected spotty or nonexistent emergency radio coverage, ended radio interference and opened up more radio channels for responders.

Last month, a council majority allocated $2.98 million in American Rescue Plan funding for programs allowing 911 to remotely update the more than 4,000 emergency radios in the field and adding a feature that transmits the GPS coordinates of emergency responders so their whereabouts are known for safety purposes.

In celebration of the center’s 25th anniversary, a public open house will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 17, Rosencrans said.