Editorial

Editorial

Time to consider 911

The Board of Supervisors has been presented with a plan to implement an emergency “911” telephone dispatching system in the county. Because the county’s telephone exchanges cross county lines, the equipment needed would be more than the basic 911 service. That, of course, means the system would be more expensive.

Since the plan would call for equipment and operations to be paid through a surcharge on the telephone bill of each county resident, the supervisors have wisely decided to appoint a committee of interested residents, law enforcement and fire and rescue representatives to study the proposal.

Such a system is a good idea, and deserves the support of the county’s residents as the committee attempts to gauge the community’s feelings on the issue.

True, a lot of questions still remain to be answered, mainly what the cost would be to each customer. In Albemarle County, for example, the surcharge is 50 cents per month for each telephone customer. Depending on the design decided upon for Rappahannock’s system, the cost could be higher—or lower.

The system would offer a number of advantages over the present dispatch system. Now, unless the dispatcher is personally familiar with the location of the call, she must rely on directions provided by the caller. In emergency situations, with a fire or serious illness, callers are often understandably upset and directions are not always clear.

The dispatchers will confirm that some people are even unable to tell them how to get to the house; directions like “They know where it is, they were here for Aunt Maude last summer” are not always clear to the firefighters or rescue ikquad members respohdihgltoaliIb:threSteMtigemergency.'

The Enhanced-911 system would immediately tell the dispatcher not only the location of the house and the number from which the call was placed; it also has the capability to display information such as whether the house contains an elderly or disabled person, any history of chronic illness, or the construction of the house.

If further information is needed, the call-back feature would enable the dispatcher to return the call to request more details.

Fire and rescue personnel will confirm that, next to timely response, information about the nature of the call is one of the most important things they can have before they arrive on the scene. It enables them to prepare for what they might find.

And, of course, most importantly, minutes and seconds saved may mean lives saved. And that should surely be worth an extra quarter, or 50 cents, or even a dollar, on each customer’s monthly phone bill. The value of a human life — especially one saved by prompt emergency care — cannot be measured in dollars and cents.