October start-up set for E-911 plan The County last to receive service

PRESQUE ISLE – Oct. 29 has been set for the start-up of Enhanced-911 emergency phone service in Aroostook County.

“This has been a long time coming and we’re really excited about this finally happening,” Lt. Ray Bessette, Maine State Police Communications Division commander, told emergency service leaders from The County during a meeting Tuesday morning at the Presque Isle Fire Department.

“We expect it to go off without a hitch,” he said.

The Maine State Police Regional Communications Center at Houlton will serve as the public safety answering point for the region. Aroostook County is the last region of the state to get the service.

Under the system, anyone who needs to report an emergency need only dial 911.

When the call is received at the answering point, the address and telephone number from which the call is being made will be displayed on a computer monitor for a dispatcher.

A major advantage of the system is that even if a caller hangs up or is cut off, the system already has the identifying information and help can be sent to that location.

After ascertaining the nature of the emergency, a dispatcher will alert the appropriate police, fire or ambulance service for that location, or relay that data to the dispatching center for that municipality.

Dispatchers at the answering point also are trained as emergency medical dispatchers to provide medical information over the phone until emergency personnel arrive at the scene.

One concern expressed Tuesday was that people might use the 911 system to report nonemergencies such as a stray dog or being locked out of a car.

“We need to educate the public that 911’s for true emergencies,” Bessette said.

The cost to Aroostook County under the contract with the Maine State Police is $180,000 for the first year, plus a one-time administrative fee of $16,000, according to Roland Martin, Aroostook County administrator.

He said the contract is about half of what had been planned.

Martin said the state police answering point was cheaper than Aroostook County maintaining its own. County officials also had sought proposals from other answering points in the state, but none responded.

“In our opinion, this is a win-win situation,” he said. “We hope this is going to be a long-term relationship.”