9-1-1, the pros and cons

I have been collecting a list of arguments for and against joining the 9-1-1 system. I am posting this here in the hope that it will help inform discussion in preparation for the Community Information meeting later this week, which will hopefully lead to a process that will give us some say in what we would like to see implemented.  Please feel free to add or correct any mistakes you see.

The Pros:

(1) Caller location

9-1-1 technology can usually locate calls automatically, from landlines as well as cell phones (though I think their expectation to be able to do this is why they don’t deal with VOIP calls, and is probably also the underlying reason why we need house numbers to join). 

(2) Getting our insurance ducks in a row 

Apparently, the 2008 underwriters review flagged the current paging service as an issue. I don’t know how much this contributed to them classifying us as “unprotected”, or whether moving to 9-1-1 will change anything in that regard - it may not.

(3) Easier to remember - easier to dial

9-1-1 is easier and quicker to dial than our local dispatcher numbers, and it’s definitely easier to remember - unless you have speed dial, of course, but then, not everybody does.     

(4) Emergency preparedness 

A lot of effort in the 9-1-1 community is going towards formulating emergency response plans and procedures, and to making emergency communication systems reliable and resilient to the kinds of challenges that are likely to occur during large-scale emergencies. That’s immensely important for maintaining sanity and a coordinated response in cities and densely populated areas, and Lasqueti could probably do with a bit of planning as well. True, we are probably better prepared than urbanites in many respects, but it would be good to have a plan in place, for example, if the forest caught flame. That said, emergency preparedness planning can be done without becoming part of 9-1-1, a lot of the 9-1-1 planning is probably not relevant for us and might force us into doing things that aren’t appropriate for the Lasqueti context, and the potential benefits of being part of a larger team may be more than offset by the increased dependency on a complex, centralized system. For example, even assuming that we still have a phone system and 9-1-1 relays after the big one hits, and David made a pretty convincing case that that probably won’t be the case, it seems a no-brainer to me that 9-1-1 dispatchers will be overloaded in a major emergency situation like that. Even if you get through, they may not be willing to invest a lot of time in dealing with a burning propane shed on Lasqueti when half of Port Alberni has just washed into the ocean.

(5) Liability

Being part of 9-1-1 might make our emergency response team less open to liability (by shifting some of that liability to the NI911 corp).

(6) Compliance

Becoming part of 9-1-1 will push our Fire Department towards compliance with existing standards. Again, this might be a double-edged sword. Not meeting standards might expose us to liability, but on the other hand not all the standards will necessarily make sense in the Lasqueti context. Speaking from personal experience with emergency services in North Vancouver, I feel our system on Lasqueti is more than adequate, and in many ways more efficient. 

The Cons:

(1) New addressing system

I doubt there is anybody on Lasqueti who has a particular desire to get yet another address, especially not to the tune of ~$20,000. I am also wondering how our emergency services feel about the prospect of having to deal with this new address system?  I can see a lot of potential for confusion and delays in response if they need to make that extra mental step to figure out where they are supposed to be going. Over on the other side, onboard navigation systems can help with this task, but that probably won’t be an option any time soon here on Lasqueti.  

(2) Strange(r) dispatches

Even assuming PRRD staff is able to create a good map and keep that map reasonably up to date, there will almost certainly be problems arising from a lack of local knowledge if we become part of a big, centralized system. Even if the dispatchers are very professional and learn to work around Lasqueti circumstances reasonably quickly, their computer system may not. Computer systems are always first and foremost designed to deal efficiently with the typical case, and they don’t deal at all well with cases that the people that commissioned the software hadn’t thought about. This is bad news for us since we may often fall in the latter category. I take it as a bad omen of things to come in this respect that the first condition for 9-1-1 membership is that we need to get “proper” addresses …

(3) Small fish in a big-fish pond  

This is a large club we would be joining, and paying membership dues for. Some of the key concerns, objectives, and goals of the bigger 9-1-1 community would be ours as well, but there will almost certainly be other priorities that might not be high on our agenda and that might force us to adoption solutions that are expensive and less than ideal for the Lasqueti context. More generally speaking, we will almost certainly have very little say in decisions made by the NI911 corporation, even though a lot of these decisions will be affecting us. We will lose a lot of control over the technology we use and perhaps also over what procedures are followed, with all kinds of potential negative impacts that might imply.

(4) The police connection

I have heard some concerns that calls to 9-1-1 might get the caller potentially unwanted attention from law enforcement. Whether this is actually the case or not, it definitely feels more ‘official’ to dial 9-1-1 than to call one of our local numbers. There is a risk that people might hesitate to call 9-1-1 because they are worried about whether their problem really qualifies as an emergency, or worried that the might be asked awkward questions afterwards. 

(5) Not a direct line

Going through 9-1-1 dispatchers is likely going to involve more steps to get through to the person actually responsible for doing the dispatching. That would especially be true for non-local cell phones.

(6) VOIP

VOIP phones may not be able to access 9-1-1. I am not sure to what degree this is still true, or will remain true - it appears that emergency services have more or less resigned themselves to the fact that people are bound to call in from all kinds of digital devices and that all will need to be accommodated somehow. For now, though, VOIP access to 9-1-1 is likely still a problem.

(7) Costly new infrastructure 

The solution currently proposed by NI911 requires expensive new infrastructure and equipment (tower(s), radios, etc). Some investment in new equipment might also be required if we decide not to join NI911 and adopt a local solution to dispatching our fire fighters instead. However, we would have more flexibility in chosing appropriate technology, and the solution may well be a lot cheaper, since it wouldn't need to be compatible with NI911 requirements and wouldn't involve the need to establish a communications link to the remote 9-1-1 dispatcher service. 

(8) Pending switch to IP-based communications 

The traditional 9-1-1 system relies on old-fashioned switch-board technology and is entirely based on a voice-only communication model. There is currently a major push afoot to ditch the old technology and make the switch to a digital, IP-based system (see e.g. http://www.911.gov/911-issues/standards.html). The objective is to increase compatibility and interoperability and to allow the public and service providers to make use of digital data such as photos or video in emergency response communications. These objectives are at least partially relevant for the Lasqueti context. However, the switch isn’t happening overnight, and there are going to be plenty of technical glitches along the way. It seems that NI911 has decided for us that good old tried-and-true technology is the way to go for now, which may well be the only practical option at this point in time. However, it seems likely that the lifespan of the proposed VHF solution is limited and that we may be facing major costs a few years down the road to upgrade to an IP-based system.