Innovative 119 Dispatch Center in New Taipei City
Innovative 119 Dispatch Center in New Taipei City, the leading emergency service
Every second counts in emergency services. The launching ceremony of New Taipei City Fire Department 119 Emergency Dispatch Center was held on November 27, 2013 with the officiating guest New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu Li-luan. Started planning in 2011, the construction was handled by the winning bidder Chunghwa Telecom Northern Business Group in 2012. The migration of the emergency dispatch system to the new fire department building (No.15, Sec. 2, Nanya S. Rd., Banqiao Dist., New Taipei City, Taiwan) was on 24 July, 2013, providing responsible and reliable services for the public.
With no dispatch center in New Taipei City until 1998, all the emergency calls were managed by the jurisdiction stations before then. In response to the needs in emergency services, Taipei County Fire Department (later known as New Taipei City Fire Department) and 119 Dispatch Center were established on July 1, 1998. The annual volumes of 119 emergency calls handled increases since the establishment; the total number of calls reached 1 million (1,012,712 calls) in 2011, a growth of 210% from 2001 to 2012. The growing needs of the public to emergency services, together with the increase in frequency and strength of disasters, the new dispatch center is equipped with more advanced hardware and software. The number of 119 lines increased from 60 to 120 and the number of seats increased from 12 to 30. In response to the possibility of mass disasters, 5 decision-maker seats and 12 backup seats were added. It is now the largest dispatch center that can handle mass calling in Taiwan.
Apart from the improvement in hardware facilities, the new 119 Expert Dispatch System with guided acceptance interface, fire dispatch assistance and computer-aided pre-dispatch function was launched on 24 July, 2013. Since its operation, the dispatch center has handled more than 2,700 fire cases and the average dispatch time was 39 seconds (84 seconds last year), which met the target of dispatch time below 40 seconds. With the touchscreen dialing function, the dispatchers could transfer the call across counties with a click.
Apart from this, the system incorporates new positioning functions by using house numbers, cellular base stations, geographic coordinates, Taiwan Power Company Grid, street light reference numbers, mile markers, road junctions and landmarks; and at the same time integrates the global positioning system on ambulance and route analytical model of the Dispatch Expert System; results in effective and efficient dispatch services of emergency vehicles.
By consulting the emergency services dispatch streaming in New York City Fire Department, the innovative Medical Expert Dispatch System improved the quality of emergency medical services by providing key questions for 119 dispatchers to ask the callers. The system then transfers the calls to staff nurses for telephone consultation The 119 Reporting App and Mobile Emergency Room will be integrated into the dispatch system in the future to provide more reliable emergency services.
The system is integrated with the related Geographical Information System of departments for New Taipei City. The new 119 dispatch system, integrated with fire safety management system, rescue database and water resources management system, could provide 119 dispatchers and the commander at the scene information about emergency vehicles the real-time location of the vehicle, street view and map, information of building structure and utility, hydrants positions, information of hazardous materials, road camera images, dangerous areas for operation and areas lack of water, therefore promote the application of information and communication technology in emergency services. New Taipei City 119 Dispatch Center, as the most pioneering and high-tech within Taiwan currently, is expected to provide “1 emergency call, 1 serious mission, for your safety” to the public in future.
Contact person: Chief Hsiao, Li-Kai (Gary)
Mobile: +886-953-105280
E-mail: gary670120@yahoo.com.tw