911 info

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`Crawford County 911, What is your emergency?'

New emergency system is ready for the public

911 in Crawford County is now officially active, according to 911 Coordinator Julie Cipra.

Testing of the universal emergency number began in November, and Cipra says everything is going very well. It is now ready for public use.

All calls from within the city of Prairie du Chien automatically route to city dispatch, and all calls from anywhere else in the county will route directly to county dispatch.

When 911 is called, the caller's phone number, address, municipality, helpful location information and medical information provided by the resident automatically appears on the computer screen at the dispatch center.

The dispatcher will also see a list of all emergency service agencies responsible for that location, such as which fire department, rescue squad, first responder and law enforcement agency should respond. In the past dispatchers had to rely on maps of the county to find which emergency service should respond.

The new grid-based addressing makes locations much easier to find for emergency personnel than the rural route box numbers used in the past.

Another advantage to this system is the one-button redial on hang up calls. If a caller is disconnected for any reason the dispatcher can automatically try to call the number back to find out if an emergency exists, and what the nature of the emergency is. If no one answers, an officer will respond.

Crawford County 911 has a total price tag of $232,500. Expenses included fire signs and posts, digital base maps and GPS unit, and expenses paid to GTE/Verizon Communication for computer hardware, software and consulting.

By the end of 2001, Crawford county hopes to integrate their digital base maps with the Enhanced 911 database. This will provide an on-screen map showing the physical location of the caller. They will also use the mapping system to identify specific areas. One example of the benefit of this would be alerting a dispatcher via the map and database to a hazardous materials storage within a two block radius of a fire call.

Calls made from cell phones currently go to the sheriff's department which is closest to the tower the call is going to. Cipra noted that in the future, their system may have the capability to pinpoint the location of a cell phone user making an emergency call.

Sheriff Bob Ostrander and Cipra have travelled to schools around the county and talked to students about not using 911 unless there is an actual emergency. County DARE officers will reiterate this message in their travels to area schools.

The county board has passed an ordinance which created a fine for those placing prank calls to the 911 system. The fine ranges from $50 to $300 per incident.

Since all calls are recorded into the system as soon as they ring into the dispatch center, tracing the calls will not be a problem.

County dispatchers will answer the phone “Crawford County 911, what is your emergency?” City dispatchers will answer with “Prairie du Chien 911, what is your emergency?”

Dispatchers will then gather information to decide the nature of the emergency and what personnel should be dispatched and verify the person's address on their screen.

All emergency calls should be made to 911, not to the previously used local fire and emergency numbers listed in the phone book.

For non-emergency situations:

• Dial 326-2421 in the City of Prairie du Chien, and

• Dial 608-326-8414 anywhere else in the county.

Telephone network charges will be passed onto telephone subscribers beginning in the first quarter of 2001. These dollars allow local telephone providers to recover both recurring and start-up expenses. The funds generated through this do not come back to the county.

The first 36 months of 911 will result in a 70 cents per month charge on a subscriber's phone bill, which includes start up expenses. After that there will be a 30 cents per month charge.

Cipra was commended for her work on the 911 project by Sheriff Ostrander, County Board Chair Bob Dillman and Prairie du Chien Mayor Mary Jane Faas. Cipra in turn thanked many others for their hard work, including city and county law enforcement personnel, the county board and Bob Bartholomew from CenturyTel.

For questions about your address, or to add medical information to your 911 record, please contact Julie Cipra at 608-326-1110.

Helpful 911 tips:

When to dial 911:

Fire, crime, serious illness. Ask yourself whether police, fire, or medical assistance is needed right now to protect life or property. If YES, then immediately dial 911.

Stay calm and answer the 911 dispatcher's questions as accurately as possible. Speak clearly and slowly. Never hang up on a 911 dispatcher until you are told to do so.

In an emergency:

Do not dial “0” for an operator. This could connect you with an operator hundreds of miles away.

Do not call your local fire department, rescue squad, or law enforcement agency directly. All calls must go through the 911 dispatch center.

Do not call 911 to “see if it works,” as a joke or to ask for information. +