Isle Of Wight County In Virginia

Mission

Our mission is to provide the citizens of Isle of Wight county with the best possible response to law enforcement, fire, and medical emergencies.

The Emergency Communications Center consists of sixteen full time dispatchers, several part time dispatchers, and one dispatch supervisor. The manager is Ms. Diane Jones. The supervisor is Ms. Elsie Major. The consolidated Emergency Communications Center has been in operation at its current location since May of 2005. It recieves and dispatches calls for the following agencies:

• Isle of Wight Sheriff’s Office
• Smithfield Police Department
• Windsor Police Department
• Isle of Wight Volunteer Rescue Squad
• Windsor Volunteer Rescue Squad
• Carrollton Volunteer Fire Department
• Carrsville Volunteer Fire Department
• Rushmere Volunteer Fire Department
• Smithfield Volunteer Fire Department
• Windsor Volunteer Fire Department

This allows as many agencies as needed to be mobilized through a single call to 9-1-1.

In addition, the Emergency Communications Center receives and processes calls after hours for Isle of Wight Animal Control. It maintains contact with Virginia State Police and various emergency response agencies for incidents requiring further assistance.

The dispatchers are certified by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, which oversees all law enforcement dispatch training in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Isle of Wight dispatchers are also certified in the techniques of Emergency Medical Dispatch to provide optimum response to medical calls. The Center is working toward Emergency Medical Dispatch accreditation through the Virginia Office of EMS.

Calling 9-1-1

Many callers may wonder whether their situation is appropriate for calling 9-1-1. To put it simply, call 9-1-1 any time there is an immediate loss or threat of loss to life, limb, or property. Many situations are obvious, such as a person having chest pains or a house on fire. Some are less so. Should you call 9-1-1 if someone is breaking into your house, or a neighbor’s house? Absolutely! The faster we know where you are and what is happening, the better the chance that nobody will get hurt. Should you call 9-1-1 because the neighbor’s stereo is too loud? Probably not. Loud music is annoying, but it presents no immediate threat to life or property. In this situation it would be more appropriate to call the law enforcement non-emergency number. For the County Sheriff’s Office and the Windsor Police Department that number is 357-2151. For the Smithfield Police Department that number is 357-3247. If in doubt, go ahead and call 9-1-1.

Once you are connected to 9-1-1, or the law enforcement non emergency line, be prepared for the dispatcher to ask a lot of questions. While the 9-1-1 system gives the service name and address for regular wireline telephones connected to us, the dispatcher is still required to confirm the address and telephone number. There could be errors in the telephone company data, or the emergency could be somewhere different from the phone call’s origin. We want to be sure help comes to the right place, and that the witness or reporting party can be contacted for more information once help is on the way. If you call from a cellular phone, your name and location are not always displayed. The only thing the dispatcher will have is your cell phone number and the address of the cell tower that processes the call. This technology is improving, as many wireless providers now put GPS capability in their newer phones, which provides a latitude and longitude to the dispatcher after you have been on the phone for about a minute. The dispatcher will still need you to confirm the exact location of the emergency. If you don’t know the address, use a nearby intersection or business as a point of reference. If you are reporting a crime, descriptions of involved individuals are essential, so expect the dispatcher to ask you questions about who did what, and what they looked like. This is their job, and your answers matter to the safety of responding personnel, so please provide as much information as you can. If you are reporting a medical emergency, the dispatcher will ask you a number of questions about the patient’s condition. The answers to these questions can be very important to the medical crew responding in determining the patient outcome. Answer as completely and specifically as possible. Depending on your answers, the dispatcher may offer to provide instructions for how to begin caring for the patient even before rescue arrives, such as CPR. If you are reporting a fire, there will be questions about where it is and exactly what is burning. They will also ask you if anyone is known to be inside a structure that is burning, and if there are any hazards like stored fuel or chemicals there. Once you are out of a burning building, don’t go back in until the fire department tells you it is safe to do so.

If you are going to do something that will possibly cause neighbors or others passing by to think you need help when you don’t, such as a controlled burn or large bonfire, call the dispatchers at (757) 357-2151 and let them know. You know that you’re just burning off weeds, but someone passing by may think your yard is on fire and call it in. If we know in advance that it is an attended burn we can tell callers that rather than sending the fire department where they are not needed.

It is the objective of this office to provide a professional and responsive level of service to all citizens of Isle of Wight County. If you have questions or comments about the Emergency Communications Center, please feel free to contact the Emergency Communications Manager at (757) 365-6290 or through the Communications Center at (757) 357-2151. You can also email to emajor@isleofwightus.net.

If you have a business or other property in Isle of Wight County and wish to provide emergency contact information so we can reach you about an emergency involving your property, contact us at the numbers above, or complete and print a IOW Business Profile Form to send in by mail or fax it to (757) 357-0706. All such information is held in confidentiality, available only to law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical personnel as needed.

Links

For general public information about 9-1-1 please visit:  http://www.apcointl.org/resources-for-the-public.html

Virginia’s Missing Children:  http://www.vsp.state.va.us/MissingChildren.shtm

Virginia 9-1-1 for kids:  http://www.911.virginia.gov/kids/