Wheatland County prepares for move to Calgary 9-1-1

By Melissa Crispin-Piche Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Wheatland County residents shouldn’t notice much of a difference when they call 911 later this year, despite a significant change happening behind the scenes.

The county is preparing to move its 911 call answering and fire dispatch services to Calgary 9-1-1, with the transition currently targeted for Dec. 8.

For residents, however, the process of getting help in an emergency isn’t expected to change.

“The user experience will not change; still call 911 and get help,” said Amy Zaluski, general manager of Community and Development Services.

The transition hasn’t happened yet, so there aren’t any real-world results to point to at this stage. Much of the work right now involves getting the system ready, including testing radio coverage, channel scanning and communications ahead of the December changeover.

Once the switch is made, 911 calls from Wheatland County will be answered through Calgary 9-1-1.

As the call taker speaks with the person calling and gathers information about the emergency, that information can also be passed along to a dispatcher and responding fire crews. That means firefighters can be dispatched while the call taker is still gathering details.

One of the obvious questions with moving dispatch services to Calgary is how well a city-based 911 centre will be able to deal with rural locations.

Finding an emergency in Wheatland County isn’t always as simple as entering a street address. Callers may give a range road, township road, legal land description or even a landmark that is better known locally than it is outside the community.

According to information provided by the county from the City of Calgary, Calgary 9-1-1 uses digital mapping incorporated into its dispatch system with mapping information supplied by local municipalities.

Location information can also come from the caller’s phone. Cellphone GPS data can help estimate a caller’s location, while a landline provides the address associated with that telephone number.

That information is then combined with the knowledge of local firefighters responding to the call.

The county says rural addressing, including legal land descriptions and range and township roads, is accounted for within the system. Calgary 9-1-1 also already handles dispatching for a number of rural communities.

According to the county, Calgary has more than 20 years of experience dispatching rural fire departments and currently provides the service for 11 rural departments and communities. Those include neighbouring Rocky View County as well as Beiseker, Crossfield, Chestermere, Cochrane, Canmore and Kananaskis County.

Many of the departments Calgary 9-1-1 works with are volunteer or paid-on-call operations.

That’s particularly relevant in rural areas because the number of firefighters available at any given time can change. Response plans built into the dispatch system allow neighbouring departments to be brought in when additional help is needed.

The system also uses predetermined response plans to identify which crews and equipment should be sent depending on the type of emergency.

Another concern the county has tried to address is whether Wheatland calls could be delayed when Calgary is experiencing a high volume of emergencies.

The county says that won’t be the case. Calls are handled according to the urgency of the emergency rather than whether they originate in Calgary or one of the rural communities served by the centre.

Backup capacity was another consideration when the county selected its new provider. Calgary 9-1-1 operates two centres at the same time, allowing operations to continue if one location is affected by a power outage, technology failure or another problem.

Calgary 9-1-1 was selected following a request for proposals process. According to the county, proposals were considered based on several factors, including cost, technology and the provider’s ability to maintain service if equipment or facilities fail.

The county has not released a comparison of what competing providers bid because those proposals are confidential, although information presented during public council meetings remains available as part of the public record.

The change also won’t affect which ambulances respond to emergencies in Wheatland County.

EMS dispatch is separate from Calgary 9-1-1. When someone calls 911 for a medical emergency, the call is transferred to the provincial EMS dispatch system which determines the ambulance response.

Local fire departments will also continue responding to medical calls where they currently provide assistance. That’s especially important in rural communities where firefighters can sometimes reach a patient before an ambulance arrives.

Residents won’t have to do anything differently when the new system goes live. There is no new emergency number to remember and no changes need to be made to a phone.

There will be one new number residents may want to keep handy. Non-emergency fire matters, including questions about burn permits and fire bans, will be handled through 403-264-1022

Residents could also see “Calgary 911” appear on their caller ID after the transition.

That can happen if someone accidentally hangs up while calling 911 or the call is disconnected. Calgary 9-1-1 may call the person back to confirm they’re safe or gather information that was lost when the call ended. 

Residents are being asked to answer if they see Calgary 9-1-1 calling. With the transition still scheduled for December, it remains too early to say what difference the new system will make during actual emergency calls.

For residents, though, the county’s message is simple: if there’s an emergency, call 911 just as you do now.