The City of West Haven has a new emergency response system that city leaders say could help keep the public safer.
The system is designed to collect information about a 911 call and transmit that information to first responders as it comes in. It was unveiled at an event at police headquarters on Monday morning.
“It’s real time. As things are happening, police, fire, ambulances, everybody,” West Haven Mayor Ed O’Brien said.
West Haven police, the city’s fire departments, and public safety from the University of New Haven will be able to access the system which is designed to coordinate efforts in an emergency situation. In some cases, information about what awaits responders at a scene such as whether elderly residents are present or where people might be trapped.
“It makes us get to you a lot faster, a lot quicker. Dispatching multiple agencies at the same time, ambulance police and fire,” Deputy Chief Scott Schwartz, emergency management director for the City of West Haven, said.
“It gets the police and fire men on scene quicker. It gets them there knowing what is going on,” O’Brien said.
“Depending on the type of call, we’ll be able to literally just hit a button and we’ll get the information in real time, live to the responding unit, be it police or fire,” Abraham Colon, director of 911 communications for the city, said.
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In some cases, having that up-to-the-minute information could save a person’s life, officials said.
“Four to six minutes, somebody’s biologically dead if you don’t get any assistance. Imagine getting the information live and having a responder respond within two minutes. … That increases your chances of survival by far,” Colon said.
The new system came as the result of a federal mandate and cost about $3.4 million.
City officials said they expect the technology to last for at least twenty years.
