Welcome to Vance County Emergency Communications

General Information:

    The Henderson - Vance County 911 Communications Center went online on June 1st, 1987. At that time it was at the basic level. The center remained at the basic level for many years. In March of 1994 the City and County began working towards implementing Enhanced 911. On August 23rd of 1999 Enhanced 911 was implemented. Vance County now has a state of the art 911 center that utilizes the latest technology which includes touch screen radio consoles, Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), up to the minute weather information and redundant back up capabilities. The Telecommunicators of Vance County 911 are committed to the protection of the residents of the City of Henderson and Vance County. We strive each and every day to answer all calls for help and to process these calls in an accurate and timely fashion.

Our Responsibilities:

    Henderson-Vance County 911 Emergency Communications is responsible for the dispatch of all public safety agencies in the City and the County. We have a total of nine telephone lines and six primary radio channels that are monitored 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year. During inclement weather, disasters and yes even during holidays, Vance County 911 Telecommunicators are ready to receive your calls for help.      

Training:

    911 Telecommunicators are capable, highly trained members of the public safety community. They are certified as Telecommunicators through the Department of Justice. They are also trained in Emergency Medical Dispatch, Fire Service Dispatch, Law Enforcement Dispatch and Domestic Violence response. Moreover, our Shift Supervisors receive specialized training in Communications Center Supervision through the National Communications Institute. In addition, all Telecommunicators are certified through the SBI Division of Criminal Information.

What Types of 911 Calls Can We Receive?

    Henderson-Vance County 911 is prepared to properly respond to any and all calls for help regardless of the situation. All non-English speaking callers are immediately connected with AT&T language line service with the touch of a single button. AT&T is capable of translating over 140 spoken languages. Our connection time to this service is less than one minute. During this time the 911 Telecommunicator remains on the line with the caller continuing to listen in the hopes of being able to determine what is going on until the call can be translated. Furthermore each one of our dispatch positions is equipped with the latest in TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) and TTY technology as well as HCO (Hearing Carry Over), VCO (Voice Carry Over) and ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange). The bottom line is if you need help we want to provide that help. 

What About Wireless Calls?

     On February 1st of 2007, Wireless Phase II was successfully deployed in Vance County. All cellular phone providers that offer coverage in Vance County have employed this technology. This means that when you dial 911 in an emergency from anywhere in Vance County, the 911 Telecommunicator will know your location in just a few seconds. Your exact location will appear on a map that enables 911 personnel to get the appropriate help to you quickly in your time of need. BE CAREFUL. NOT ALL CELL PHONES ARE PHASE II COMPATIBLE. To find out if your cell phone is capable of broadcasting the phase II signal, contact your cell phone provider or visit the store where you purchased the phone. Most newer phones are phase II compatible.  

Telecommunicators with Vance County 911 are proud to be members of the Telecommunicator Emergency Response Task Force.The Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce (TERT) is dedicated to providing staffing and support to public safety emergency communications centers in times of manmade or natural disaster. Click the link to Learn more about TERT.

Telecommunicators with Vance County E-911 are proud members of the North Carolina chapter of the National Emergency Number Association and the North Carolina chapter of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International