Charlotte County 9-1-1

Want to work in a fast-paced, team-oriented position with the ability to save lives and improve your community, all from a comfortable office setting? Are you the kind of person that likes to know everything going on in your town before anyone else? If so, visit our job opening web pages, or come see us at a job fair near you to talk about becoming a 911 Operator for the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office or Punta Gorda Police Department! The job of a 911 Operator is equally as rewarding as it is difficult. While it takes a very specific type of individual, those who are meant for this profession find a career they’re proud of, serving their community and having a positive impact on the lives of their neighbors.

There is a nation-wide shortage of eligible applicants for 911 dispatch, an issue that is compounded by year-over-year increases in call volume. 911 has answered citizen’s calls for help since 1968. Now, 911 is the one calling for help. Will you answer?

Keep a look out for career fairs we’re participating in or visit the websites at:

CCSO Dispatch

PGPD Dispatch

Each year, the second week of April, we come together to recognize the headset heroes who work tirelessly behind the scenes and play a crucial role in ensuring the safety of the community and first responders. National Public Safety Telecommunications Week shines a spotlight on the dedicated individuals who serve as the first point of contact during emergencies, dispatching the help needed and guiding us through some of the most challenging moments of our lives.

Public safety telecommunicators work in high-stress environments, fielding a wide range of calls that can range from medical emergencies and fires to criminal activities and natural disasters. Each call they receive requires swift action, clear communication, and quick decision-making skills. They are trained to gather critical information while simultaneously dispatching appropriate resources to the scene, all while offering reassurance and support to the caller.

So, how can we show our appreciation for these dedicated professionals? Simple gestures like saying “thank you” or sending a note of gratitude can go a long way in recognizing their hard work and dedication. Additionally, advocating for better resources and support for public safety telecommunicators can help ensure that these professionals have the tools and training they need to excel in their roles.

As we reflect on National Public Safety Telecommunications Week, let us take a moment to express our gratitude to individuals who serve as the lifeline between emergencies and assistance. Their selflessness, resilience, and unwavering commitment to public safety deserve our highest praise and recognition.

Charlotte County Emergency Communications Centers are requesting assistance from the public in relation to their cellular devices and 911 accidental calls. Charlotte County has seen a 33% increase in 911 calls compared to the same time in 2022. Much of this increase is believed to be related to a cellular phone operating system on android phones that took place in the latter part of 2022.

Since the android operating system update rolled out, Emergency Communications Centers from across the world have seen a major uptick in 911 accidental calls.  Some of them reporting increases in call volume with upwards of 300-500%. While some of the increase in 911 calls across Charlotte County may also be attributed to population growth, we have been able to identify that many of them are related to accidental dialing. Some of these accidental 911 calls are occurring several times a day from the same device.

To assist us with this rapid growth in accidental 911 calls, please reach out to your provider to learn how you can change settings on your device to prevent these accidental calls. If you should happen to accidentally call 911, please remain on the line until you speak with an operator to confirm the lack of an emergency. 

The National Emergency Number Association released the following statement.  NENA Statement on Recent Increase in Accidental 9-1-1 Calls – National Emergency Number Association

Did you know that in February of 2020 that Kari’s law went into effect nationally?   Kari’s Law requires all multi-line telephone system (MLTS) owners to program their systems so that a user can dial “9-1-1” to reach emergency services without having to dial “9” or some other number first.  Multi-line telephone systems are typically found in office buildings, hotels, hospitals, airports, etc.   In addition to Kari’s Law, is Ray Baum’s Act that requires that street address of the calling party, plus additional information such as suite, apartment or similar information also known as “dispatchable location” to be conveyed via the telephone system when calling 9-1-1.   If you are an owner of a MLTS and have not yet made these changes, please review the links provided below and ensure that your system complies.

FCC on Kari’s Law & Ray Baum’s Act

National 911 Office on Kari’s Law & Ray Baum’s Act

Both Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office and Punta Gorda Police Dept 9-1-1 Centers are using a secure web-based platform through Rapid SOS that allows access to emergency data via applications completed by the phone owner. This data is only provided by you when you create a profile and allow sharing of this information. 

• If you are an Apple user, you can access your Medical ID profile through the iPhone Health App.
• Another option is to sign up with the Emergency Health Profile Association at emergencyprofile.org. The Emergency Health Profile is brought to you in partnership with the American Heart Assn, Red Cross, Direct Relief and Rapid SOS.

Users of these profiles, regardless of profile platform, are responsible for maintaining their own data and keeping it up to date. 9-1-1 centers will only have access to information of individuals who choose to participate, complete their profiles and then make a 9-1-1 call. 9-1-1 staff do not have access to information without the device having called 9-1-1.  When a 9-1-1 call is received in the center, AND IF, the information is provided, the telecommunicator may ask to confirm the information to ensure it is accurate and relative to the caller.  

Charlotte County 9-1-1 centers have been using this web-based platform called Rapid SOS Portal since late 2018. At the time of inception, the Rapid SOS Clearing House provided improved location accuracy of many cellular 911 callers. This technology has proven to be very useful in finding callers in an emergency.  Since the 9-1-1 centers adoption of this platform, the Rapid SOS Clearing House has been working diligently to deliver additional data rich information that can improve public safety emergency response.  Rapid SOS has been partnering with a variety of companies to enhance the information that can be delivered to 9-1-1 centers. 

We will be watching for additional future applications that will be shared with our public safety agencies through the Rapid SOS Platform and pass this information along to the members of our community.  If you have any questions about these programs and about 9-1-1 here in Charlotte County, reach out to the E911 Office at 941-575-5339. 

With the growing attention related to the COVID-19 outbreak we understand here at the Charlotte County E911 Office that citizens may be looking to all sources for information and direction to include the Charlotte County E911 web page. To that end, we wanted to provide some links that might be helpful and to let you know what steps are being taken to keep our citizens and staff safe during this time.

Center for Disease Control (CDC)  – Information  on how to protect yourself and what to do if you think you are sick.

Center for Disease Control (CDC) – Travel Advisories

Florida Department of Health – What you need to know about COVID-19 in Florida.

If you have further questions related to COVID-19  Contact 866-779-6121

In the event that you require medical attention and need to call 9-1-1, you may find that our operators ask a few additional questions. These questions will provide a better understanding of the situation which will allow our responders to be better prepared prior to arriving on scene.  Any additional questions that will be asked have been approved by the Medical Director.  Based on the responses to these questions, operators may provide additional instruction.  We ask for your patience during the questioning process as these questions are essential for citizen and responder safety.

Both,Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office and Punta Gorda Police Department’s 9-1-1 Centers are taking the COVID-19 situation  seriously. Keeping our telecommunicators healthy is critical to maintaining a quality level of service for our citizens. The centers are  taking precautions and have back up plans in place.

Thank you for your continued patience and it is our wish that you and your families remain healthy during this event.

Laurie Anderson

E911 Manager

Celebrating 50 Years of 9-1-1

Today the 9-1-1 industry celebrates a very important day in history. On February 16, 1968, Senator Rankin Fite made the first 9-1-1 call in the United States in Haleyville, Alabama. Several years later, 9-1-1 became the nationally recognized number for accessing emergency services and today hundreds of millions of 9-1-1 calls are made across the country each year. Charlotte County alone, receives over 85,000 9-1-1 calls.

Over the past 50 years, significant strides have been made to improve 9-1-1 service but keeping up with the rapidly changing technology can be quite a struggle in the public sector. Members of the 9-1-1 industry are continuously working towards development of 9-1-1 technology and standards that will meet the needs of the system users.  Keeping up with the technology, is not the only challenge. One of the biggest challenges in bringing these technologies to the table is funding. Industry representatives are working hard to bring awareness to the new technologies and the challenges that are being faced every day regarding 9-1-1.

This week, 9-1-1 industry representatives are attending an annual event “9-1-1 Goes to Washington” This event is designed to educate attendees about the legislative and regulatory issues surrounding 9-1-1 and allow the attendees opportunities to share their knowledge and experiences with congressional leaders in an effort to advancing the future of 9-1-1.

For more information regarding on the history of 9-1-1 and modernizing what is currently in place, click on the hyperlinks.

On Monday, March 27, 2017 a local media channel reported that Charlotte County was currently accepting text to 911.  Contact was made with the media channel to advise them that this statement was inaccurate. The media may have gotten Charlotte County mixed up with another nearby county who is accepting text to 911. This article is being posted to provide readers with an update on the status of text to 911 in Charlotte County at this time.

There are multiple stages to implementation of text as there is with any other 911 technology. The first step was to obtain the necessary equipment and software that provided the ability for integrated text to 911. This was achieved in May 2016.  Currently Charlotte County is in the process of contracting with the service provider, setting up engineering and notification of carriers. Future steps will include field testing, standard operating procedure development, training for telecommunicators and public education.

A very critical step in this process public education as this method of reaching 911 is for those individuals that are hearing or speech impaired or those individuals who are in distress and are unable to speak. For those that can hear and speak, it is preferred that they make an actual telephone call with voice.

Currently in the State of Florida, approximately 1/4 of the counties are able to accept text. Many of those that do not have text are working on it and may somewhere in the various stages listed above. Each county is responsible for implementation of text while the initiative is supported by the Florida E911 Board. More information regarding the Statewide Text to 911 Initiative can be located on the Florida Department of Management Services Enhanced 911 www.dms.myflorida.com/business_operations/telecommunications/enhanced_911

Sarasota and Collier Counties are accepting text whereas Charlotte and Lee do not. If you are a person who relies on text services, check with the county you are staying in to learn about their capabilities.