Public gets look inside Lorain County 911 dispatch center

ELYRIA — Lorain County 911 celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, and the public got an inside look at how the life-saving system operates with an open house at the county 911 dispatch center on Burns Road on Saturday. As with many anniversaries, there was cake — as well as tours of the dispatch center, next door to Lorain County Community College's campus. Lorain County Commissioners Lori Kokoski, Matt Lundy and Sharon Sweda were on hand to greet those who came in out of the rain to tour the dispatch center. Sweda said there was a steady crowd early Saturday afternoon, with many eating a late lunch of hot dogs and sides provided by the Commissioners. Inside, 911 Director Tracy Slagle gave guided tours. She said the center dispatches for 23 Lorain County fire departments, for the Lorain County Sheriff's Office, Lorain County Metro Parks, the Grafton, Kipton and LaGrange police departments and the North Ridgeville Police Department on midnight shift only. Karen Davis, Lorain County's facilities director and for Saturday also a tour guide, said the building was completed for less than $1 million and opened in March. Millions of dollars more of equipment has given the dispatch center the latest in technology. The Burns Road building previously was an Equity Trust call center, which meant that much of the infrastructure to turn it into a 911 dispatch center already was in place when the county took over. For the previous 29 years of 911 in Lorain County, the dispatch center had a home on Gateway Boulevard, which remains a backup location, Davis said. There still is room to expand at the Burns Road location, with additional empty floor space and offices, she said. The center and its 25 full-time dispatchers handle 250,000 calls a year and it is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. There are five dispatchers on day shift, six on afternoon shift and six on midnight shift. Dispatchers are training in police and 911 dispatching and also can provide basic medical care instructions to those calling for a medical emergency until other first responders arrive on the scene. Training takes six to eight months. A former Lorain County 911 dispatcher, Slagle said the aptitude test for new dispatchers is difficult, and she is looking for dispatchers able to multitask and deal with emotionally and psychologically difficult calls. The center has a high turnover rate among staff and is always looking for new recruits, but it also has been successful with dispatch staff nominated for and winning awards for excellence in the past. Multiple redundant systems include two emergency generators, two fiber providers to keep the internet up and running and backup battery power to make sure there is an uninterrupted power supply to keep the computers and phone lines running until the generators kick in, Davis said. There also is a reinforced tornado shelter for dispatchers and staff in the event the building is in the path of a twister, a training room for new dispatchers and a warrants office where warrants for wanted persons are dropped off and from where officers can be dispatched to make arrests. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him at @daveobrienCT on Twitter.