Agenda - 01-29-1985 - Laserfiche WebLink

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..._.__,-. .' 0 I ORANGE COUNTY EMERGENCY SERVICES t . 1., • The mission of the Department of Emergency Services is to provide citizens with a 911 facility for reporting emergencies, provide dispatching for all emergency agencies, provide emergency medical services for Orange County and provide coordination and planning for the utilization of resources to handle emergencies and disasters. This mission is accomplished by three (3) divisions under the • Office of Emergency Services: 1. 911 Emergency Communications . 2. Emergency Medical Services . 3. Emergency Management . , Prior to the implementation of 911, there were seventeen different seven digit numbers utilized to report emergencies. The caller had to select the appropriate number for the emergency situation and the 1. location of the emergency. If more than one emergency agency were . required, it would be necessary for the caller tp make a separate • call to each agency. At present, the caller dials three digits, 911, from any location within the County. These calls are answered at • the Central Communications Center where the dispatcher can simultaaeously r r dispatch all units needed to handle the emergency situation. •.', For years, Emergency Medical Service was provided totally by volunteers trained to the basic life support levei. Daytime calls. necessitated volunteers leaving their place of employment for extended w• periods of time. Often this resulted in delayed response times to the calls. As the County grew and the calls increased, this became an unacceptable means of providing daytime coverage. The County now provides funding for personnel for daytime coverage w ,r (Monday through Friday) , Loran Advanced Life Support Training Program, and for the equipment necessary to provide this program. This Advanced Life Support Program is coordinated through North Carolina Memorial •Hospital and provided by Orange County Emergency Medical Services, Orange County Rescue and South Orange Rescue Squad. 1 In the past, each Agency was responsible for management at the scenes of emergencies and for obtaining their am 'resources as needed. As multiagencies began to be dispatched to emergency scenes, it became necessary to improve the management at the scenes and to improve the utilization of resources. • The Office of Emergency Management has worked with the emergency N . agencies to develop an incident management system. This system • provides for control at emergency scenes, safety of emergency personnel • at the scene and efficient utilization of resources. This system also provides for an Emergency Operating Center to be activated in . the Orange County Communications Center when necessary far planning and coordination of emergency operations. . I - I