ENHANCED 9-1-1 EMERGENCY RESPONSE
SYSTEM
Washington County's 64,000 residents are served
by a state-of-the-art Enhanced 9-1-1 system. Calls to 9-1-1
from landline telephones are automatically routed to a Public
Service Answering Point (PSAP) serving that particular address.
Three PSAPs cover Washington County: Belpre Police, Marietta
Police, and the Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s
Office dispatches most of the county’s volunteer fire
departments and emergency medical squads, as well as village
police, Ohio Division of Wildlife officers and other services.
The Enhanced 9-1-1 system is funded by a voter-approved 50-cent
per month telephone surcharge. These funds may be used only
for purchase and maintenance of 9-1-1 equipment and software.
Under state regulations, telephone service providers charge
a fee of 12 to 25 cents per month to recover their 9-1-1 operational
expenses.
WIRELESS 9-1-1
Washington County now provides Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1, which
makes it possible to locate 9-1-1 callers who use cell phones
equipped with GPS technology. When you call 9-1-1 from a GPS-equipped
cell phone, your location is shown on the 9-1-1 mapping system,
allowing for more accurate dispatching of emergency responders
to your location. One wireless service provider in the county,
AT&T Mobility, utilizes signal triangulation technology
rather than GPS.
It is important to understand that even with Wireless Enhanced
9-1-1, a cell phone call to 9-1-1 may route to a different
city or county than where you are located. These devices we
know as cell phones are actually two-way radios. No technology
exists to route your phone's radio signal anywhere but to the
nearest tower. For example, if you call 911 on a cell phone
in Washington County, Ohio, the signal may hit a tower in Wood
County, West Virginia, or vice versa. Be prepared to describe
your location to dispatchers to assist them in getting help
to you.
The Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 service is funded by Ohio's 32-cent
per month cell phone surcharge. This is the fourth-lowest such
surcharge in the USA.
VOICE OVER INTERNET (VOIP) 9-1-1
VOIP is a rapidly emerging technology employing cable TV fiber
optic systems for telephone service. There are two important
things to know about VOIP and 9-1-1: It is up to you as a VOIP
customer to keep your physical address updated with your service
provider; and in general terms the routing of VOIP 9-1-1 calls
has not yet reached the high accuracy rate of traditional phone
service.
NEVER HANG UP ON A 9-1-1 CALL until told to do so by the dispatcher.
For more information contact:
Michael Cullums
9-1-1 Coordinator
740.373.6623 ext. 284
e-mail: mcullums@wcgov.org
