25 years. That’s how long North Island 9-1-1 has been serving the community.
The organization announced that today marks its 25th anniversary for service to over 60,000 square kilometres on Vancouver Island and portions of the Sunshine Coast.
That service area includes places like The Regional District of Mount Waddington, Strathcona Regional District, Comox Valley Regional District, qathet Regional District (excluding Lasqueti Island), Alberni-Clayquot Regional District and District #69 of Regional District of Nanaimo.
Every year, over 78,000 calls are managed by dispatchers with the organization.
Courtenay Fire Chief, Don Bardonnex says those people at the first point of contact make everyone’s job easier.
“North Island 9-1-1 fire dispatch and staff demonstrate their value daily with their dedication, creativity and resourcefulness. Thanks to their hard work and assistance behind the scenes we’ve been able to do a better job keeping up with the evolving demands of operating an emergency service business as well as serving our community during both non-emergency and emergency situations. The dispatchers’ contributions to the team are a reflection of our priorities as a department and the importance that we place on doing a good job.”
The corporation uses state-of-the-art Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) software and a fully IP-based radio system, which North Island 9-1-1 President John McNabb says helps them thrive “on providing the quickest, most reliable service to our residents. Seconds count and we take that seriously.”
“We are proud of our island-based solution to serve over 50 local fire departments in the central to north island region and portions of the coast. And look forward to continuing to support our residents when they need it most,” McNabb adds.
To learn more about North Island 9-1-1, and the area it serves, visit www.ni911.ca
