Emergency Communications

A Virginia EMS Office Accredited Emergency Medical Dispatch Communications Center

An APCO Project 33 Certified Training Program

Operations

The Orange County Emergency Communications Center provides 24 hour, 7 day-a-week 9-1-1 access and services to the citizens and user agencies in Orange County. 9-1-1 services include receiving emergency and non-emergency request for services, dispatching of EMS, fire, law enforcement and rescue squad units, transferring 9-1-1 calls to other county emergency response agencies, monitoring and providing severe weather alerts, serving as a County point of contact for state agencies, and other duties as required. The Communications Center is staffed by 16 full-time trained communications officers, each working 12-hour shifts on a rotating basis.

9-1-1 Call Taking

Orange County Emergency Communications is the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for the County of Orange. Each county 911 wire line and wireless call comes directly to the Center and is handled according to its location and nature. During the call, the Communications Officers is required to ascertain the location and nature of the emergency. Other information obtained includes, but is not limited to:

• The caller's name, address, and call-back number
• The presence of any weapons
• Certain information for medical emergencies (life status, medical history, etc.)
• Potential hazards at the scene of the emergency

When each 911 call is received, the telephone number and location of the caller is electronically displayed and is verified by the Communications Officer. This is referred to as the ANI (automatic number identifier) and the ALI (automatic location identifier) information, which is provided to the 911 PSAP from the database of the telecommunication company providing the 911 service. This information is electronically recorded in the PSAP and kept on file for official use only.

Dispatch Services

Dispatch and support services are provided to the following agencies in and around Orange County.

• Orange County Sheriff's Office
• Town of Orange Police Department
• Town of Gordonsville Policy Department
• County of Orange Fire and EMS
• Barboursville Volunteer Fire Department
• Gordonsville Volunteer Fire Department
• Orange Volunteer Fire Department
• Mine Run Volunteer Fire Department
• Lake of the Woods Volunteer Fire Department
• Lake of the Woods Volunteer Rescue Squad
• Virginia Department of Forestry

In addition, Orange County Emergency Communications maintains emergency on-call lists for various city, county, state, and private utility services, as well as other support agencies as needed.