OVERVIEW
The Brunswick County E911 Communications Center is the public safety answering point (PSAP) for Brunswick County, Virginia.  The Center answers all 911 calls for Brunswick County and dispatches the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, three town police departments, nine fire departments, three rescue squads, the Virginia Department of State Police, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and animal control. In 2003, Brunswick County implemented 911 and began answering wireless and wireline 911 phone calls.  Also in 2003, Shieldware Corporation was chosen to provide Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), mapping, and records management capabilities to the Center.  The Communications Center received a grant from the Wireless Board for FY 2009 to upgrade dispatch workstations, computer monitors, mapping workstations, and the network rack.  In addition, a paging interface will be added to the CAD system to allow text messaging between the Communications Center and field units.  These improvements are necessary to ensure uninterrupted 911 service for the citizens of Brunswick County. 

The Communications Center implemented Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) on June 1, 2008.  All full-time Communications Officers became certified EMDs by attending a 40 hour training program to prepare them to give basic medical advice on the phone prior to the arrival of an ambulance.  The implementation of EMD has greatly enhanced the Communications Center’s service to the community and will help them recognize severe life threatening emergencies more quickly which will have a positive effect on long term patient outcomes.  

The Brunswick County E911 Communications Center coordinates with bordering jurisdictions when emergency situations arise.  For example, the Mecklenburg 911 Center entered into a Mutual Aid Agreement to serve as the backup PSAP in the event that our Center is unable to receive and process 911 calls.  New technology allows calls to be routed from the Brunswick County E911 Center to the Mecklenburg County 911 Center in case of a power outage, system failure, or other unforeseen circumstance.  In addition, if the Mecklenburg 911 Center experiences a failure, the Brunswick County E911 Center serves as their backup PSAP.

COMMUNICATIONS OFFICERS
As of January 1, 2008, the E911 Communications Center employed eight full-time and four part-time Communications Officers, a Chief of Communications, and the E911 Coordinator.  The minimum requirements for all Communications Officers is a high school diploma or GED, completion of a one week Basic Dispatch School, completion of the VCIN/NCIC and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certifications, and completion of a seventy-two hour on the job training program with the Chief of Communications.

Full-time Communications Officers work twelve hours per day for three days and then have three days off.  Every two weeks, the Communications Officers rotate from day shift to night shift.  Day shift begins at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 8:00 p.m., and the evening shift begins at 8:00 p.m. and ends at 8:00 a.m. the following morning.  Starting salary for Communications Officers is $27,723.00 per year.

Communications Officers are evaluated monthly based on the Communications Center goals to determine the designation of Communications Officer of the Month.  Listed below are the Communications Officers of the month, by year, since the implementation of the Communications Officer of the Month program in 2006.

COVERAGE AREAS

Primary
Fire                     Rescue
    

Secondary
Fire                     Rescue