Blog | 911 Emergency Dispatcher | 911 Emergency Dispatch

We’ve published the spring 2018 edition of our quarterly newsletter and E-Comm’s 2017 Annual Report. Check out our publications page.

In order to receive the emergency services you need, knowing your location is critical. In fact, it will be the first question police, fire or ambulance call takers will ask when you call 9-1-1.

Knowing your exact location is always important no matter which phone you use to call 9-1-1. But, if you are using a cellphone or internet phone, it’s paramount. In Canada, the only phones that provide exact address/location information to 9-1-1 centres are landlines (the wired phones found in homes and businesses).  Cellphones provide only general location information and Internet phones provide no location information.

• Know your location at all times and communicate it when you are asked
• You should know what city you are in, building or home addresses, cross streets, and any other information that will help emergency personnel find you
• Learn your compass directions (north, south, east, west)

Important information from Search & Rescue: Never wait to call 9-1-1 if you are lost outdoors. Even though you may not feel an urgent threat to your health or safety, it is best to make the call immediately rather than trying to find your way back. Once you’ve made this call, follow the instructions of the 9-1-1 call taker and/or search and rescue official. This may include being instructed to conserve your cellphone’s battery power by not making any other calls and establishing set times for further communication with emergency responders.

Vancouver, B.C. — E-Comm, Emergency Communications for British Columbia Incorporated, is pleased to announce its 2018-2019 board of directors. The announcement follows its Annual General Meeting, held at the organization’s emergency communications centre in Vancouver.

“2017 was a year of major milestones for E-Comm and for public safety,” said Oliver Grüter-Andrew,
E-Comm President and CEO. “From breaking ground on construction of a new 9-1-1 call-taking and police dispatch centre on southern Vancouver Island to welcoming new police and fire dispatch partners to transitioning more than 30 public-safety agencies to our next generation radio system, we continued to work with our partners and contribute to safer communities in British Columbia.”

E-Comm’s board includes elected officials, representatives of emergency services and the provincial government, in addition to municipal staff and local community and business leaders.

2018-2019 board of directors: 

• Doug Campbell, Independent Director, Board Chair
• Councillor Bruce Bell, nominated by Cities of Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge
• Becky Denlinger, nominated by Provincial Government
• Barry Forbes, Independent Director
• Mayor Jack Froese, nominated by Township of Langley and Cities of Langley, Surrey and White Rock
• Lois Karr, nominated by RCMP
• Anne Kinvig, Independent Director
• Warren Lemcke, nominated by Vancouver Police Board
• Neil Lilley, nominated by BC Emergency Health Services
• Councillor Raymond Louie, nominated by Metro Vancouver
• Jack McGee, nominated by Independent Police Boards (Port Moody, West Vancouver, Transit Police, Abbotsford, New Westminster)
• Councillor Bill McNulty, nominated by City of Richmond
• Paul Mochrie, nominated by City of Vancouver
• Denise Nawata, Independent Director
• Karl Preuss, nominated by City of Delta / Delta Police Board
• Mark Sieben, nominated by Provincial Government
• Mayor Richard Walton, nominated by District of North Vancouver, City of North Vancouver, District of West Vancouver, Village of Lions Bay
• Terry Waterhouse, nominated by Cities of Surrey, Langley and White Rock, Township of Langley

The director seat representing the Village of Belcarra and the Cities of Coquitlam, New Westminster, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody will be announced at a later date.

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About E-Comm

E-Comm is the largest 9-1-1 call centre in B.C. In 2017, it received approximately 1.45 million emergency calls for 26 regional districts and communities spanning from Vancouver Island to Alberta and from the U.S. border, to north of Prince George. E-Comm also provides call-taking and dispatch services to 36 police agencies and fire departments in southwest B.C. and operates the largest multi-jurisdictional, tri-service emergency radio system in the province. 

Media contact:

Jasmine Bradley
E-Comm Corporate Communications
604-215-5023

E-Comm has published its annual report detailing key activities for 2017.

“From new executive leadership, to breaking ground on a new consolidated 9-1-1 police dispatch centre on Vancouver Island to implementing a new state-of-the-art radio system, 2017 has been a year of transitions for E-Comm,” said Doug Campbell, E-Comm Board Chair.

2017 highlights include:

• E-Comm 9-1-1 call volume tops 1.45 million
• Substantial completion of the replacement of the E-Comm Wide-Area Radio Network
• E-Comm welcomes new dispatch partners: Abbotsford Police Department and Coquitlam Fire/Rescue
• Start of construction of the South Island 9-1-1/Police Dispatch Centre
• E-Comm becomes the first point of contact (Public Safety Answer Point) for the Peace River Regional District
• Text with 9-1-1 service for Deaf and hard-of-Hearing expands to the Fraser Valley Regional District

Read our 2017 Annual Report.

We have published the spring 2018 edition of e-communiqué, our quarterly stakeholder newsletter.

The first quarter of the year saw the completion of all agency transitions to the new E-Comm radio system. This means first responders in the Lower Mainland are now using new radio technology that enhances safety and clarity of communications.

Also in the newsletter:

• Find out how we’re retiring the old radio system, first implemented in 1999.
• An update from E-Comm President and CEO Oliver Grüter-Andrew
• A story about Port Coquitlam Fire and Emergency Services joining the E-Comm Wide-Area Radio Network
• An update on construction of the new South Island 9-1-1 Police/Dispatch Centre

Visit our publications page for details.