Mason County 911 is taking another step to keep emergency lines open and help our community get the right help faster. Starting this fall, non-emergency calls will be answered by “Eva,” a virtual assistant.
According to a news release, the 911 center handles about 95,000 calls every year, and more than half of those are not emergencies. These are calls about things like animal complaints, abandoned vehicles, or general “411” type questions that don’t require police, fire, or medics right away. While important, these calls can tie up dispatchers when true emergencies are happening. Many people don’t realize that non-emergency calls are answered by the same trained telecommunicators who also take 911 calls and manage radio traffic with first responders. On a typical shift, only three people are working to cover all of that.
Using the old methods, non-emergency calls frequently interrupted 911 calls. Having the phones ring during telephonic CPR, a fast-moving brush fire or while an officer or deputy was in a tense situation pulled attention away from the emergency at hand. Those interruptions compromise public safety and go against the very mission of 911.
Last summer, staffing dropped to critical levels. We are starting to climb out of that crisis, but most of our new hires are still in training — and it takes nearly a year before a telecommunicator is ready to work the 911 line and radio on their own. With three people per shift covering the entire county, one large incident can quickly overwhelm the center. During this summer’s Toonerville Fire, the phones rang nonstop, showing the urgent need for new ways to manage heavy call volume.
That’s where Eva comes in. Eva handles non-emergency calls by asking the right questions and passing the information to a dispatcher for review. Instead of waiting on hold or receiving a lower level of service when 911 lines are busy, callers can provide their information to Eva. Dispatchers then see the call details on their screen and, with just a few clicks, send it into the computer-aided dispatch system to generate a call for service for law, fire, or EMS. If a caller says something urgent, Eva immediately routes the call to a live dispatcher. During major incidents, Eva can also switch into “emergency mode” to collect and share information with the public, such as evacuation notices or major road closures.
It’s also important to note that many non-emergency calls turn out to be actual emergencies. If you believe you are experiencing an emergency, always call 911. All true emergencies will continue to be answered by a real, trained Public Safety Telecommunicator.
“Our dispatchers are the lifeline for this county,” said Joe Schmit, Executive Director of Mason County 911. “Eva is here to take some of the load off their shoulders so they can be there the moment someone’s life is on the line.”
“Eva is not a phone tree.” Schmit explained, “There are no menus or buttons to press. Callers just speak normally, and Eva asks a few short questions to make sure responders have the information they need.”
Mason County 911’s mission hasn’t changed: to get help to the people who need it, when they need it most. Eva is simply one more way we’re making sure we can keep doing that.