E-911 system in operation
Published 12:00 am Monday, March 3, 2008
MURFREESBORO – Enhanced 911 is a go.
In his report to the Murfreesboro Town Council on Tuesday, Director of Public Safety and Police Chief Darrell Rowe said the Enhanced 911 (E-911) system was up and running.
E911 is a detailed caller identification system that allows a dispatcher to see the physical address of where a call originated.
In the past Rowe has noted the importance of the system for calls that are either interrupted, go dead and for callers who forget to tell the dispatcher what address to direct emergency responders.
Rowe said the mapping portion of the system still needs to be implemented.
“As soon as we can do it, it will bring in three times as much to the E911 Fund,” he said.
In a later interview, Town Administrator Cathy Davison said when the town’s E911 Fund generates the subsidy, that feature will be applied.
Another up-and-coming aspect of the system will be a reverse 911 feature that will allow Rowe to send public safety messages (inclement weather, lost child, etc.) to each caller through an automated voice message.
The system is a self sustaining as the E911 Fund will support it without the use of taxpayer’s money.
As for the citizens’ role in helping the E911 system work, Rowe said more property and business owners are displaying address numbers on structures.
Officers will be working during evening hours to give warnings to residents who do not have numbers displayed on their homes as it is against city ordinance.