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| Main Office : |
| Police Lieutenant Robert Robillard |
| Chief Dispatcher Lorraine Ciccone |
| Supervisors : |
| Ken Hoyt | |
| Paula Hanson | |
| Billy Ryan | |
| Rick Taylor |
| Dispatchers : |
| Keith Irvine |
| Carol Condon | |
| Melanie Goshgarian | |
| Deanna Gualtieri |
| Lou Couillard | |
| Mary Martin |
| Julie Bruno | |
| Ted Bourgeois | |
| Beth Keegan |
| Scott Arnold | |
| Shauntee Carter | |
| Andre Olejack |
| Kim Hanson | |
| Kelly Hancock | |
| Tino DeGisi | |
| TJ Deptula |
Waltham 9-1-1 Center
161 Lexington Street
Waltham MA 02452
Business # 781-893-4100
Fax # 781-314-3624
Welcome to the City of Waltham 9-1-1 Center. Waltham is a city with a residential population of more than 60,000. This figure at least doubles during each weekday, presenting the public service agencies with some unique challenges in this community located 9 miles west of Boston. Waltham is the home of two major colleges. Brandeis University ( 415 South St. ) and Bentley College ( 385 Beaver St. ). Waltham also has a major highway run directly through it, Route 128. This makes Waltham streets very busy when there is heavy rush hour traffic on Rte 128.
The 9-1-1 Center is staffed with
22 full time employees. Four Emergency Telecommunication
Dispatcher, or ETDs, supervisors and sixteen Emergency Telecommunication
Dispatchers (ETDs) make up four groups who work the 9-1-1 floor.
There is also a Police Lieutenant who is the division commander and the
Chief Dispatcher. The four groups work a 4 on and 2 off schedule. There are three 8
hr shifts that make up a 24 hour day. The days shift hours are 7:00am to
15:00pm ( 3:00pm ), the first half hours are from 15:00pm ( 3:00pm ) to
23:00pm ( 11:00pm ), and the last half shift hours are from 23:00pm (
11:00pm ) to 07:00am. There are 11 dispatchers who work a last half ,
last half, first half, first half on four consecutive days, there are 3
dispatchers that work first half, first half, day shift, day shift on
four consecutive days, and there is 5 dispatchers who work four straight
days.
The main office is the home of the Division Commander ( Police
Lieutenant ) and the Chief Emergency Telecommunication Dispatcher ( ETD)
The 9-1-1 Center has a strict minimum dispatcher policy of no less than
three dispatcher working at any given time. When the 9-1-1 center
is at its minimum it leaves; one dispatcher for police dispatch, one
dispatcher for fire dispatch, and one dispatcher for call taking.
During large events, or the prediction of a large storm, the 9-1-1
center might hire an extra dispatcher for the shift due to the call
volume most likely doubling it's average.
The 9-1-1 center is broken down
into the following six positions. All of which have the most
current Enhanced 911 technology and Computer Aided Dispatch, or CAD,
programs.
Position # 1 is the main police dispatcher. The police
dispatcher is the one who dispatches the police officers to the calls over
the radio. This position relays important information such as;
officer's safety information, suspect's descriptions, and other key
information to the responding officers. This position is able to
run license and warrant checks on individuals for the patrol officers
out on the street. This position is also able to answer calls for
service, however its main priority is the dispatching of police cars.
Position # 2 has a dual role as the police dispatcher's backup and a call taker. This position also has radio transmission capabilities as well. This means when it gets busy ( as it often does ) the backup is able to use the radio if the dispatcher is tied up running various things for the police officers. The police backup is a key factor in making the police side of the 9-1-1 center run smoothly.
Position # 3 is also a dual position. This position is the fire dispatcher's backup as well as a call taker. This position also has radio transmission capabilities as well. When a major fire or emergency happens, the fire backup is utilized. Several notifications have to be made when emergencies like these arise, this position makes these notifications for the fire dispatcher, as their main concern is monitoring the radio and relaying vital information to those responding to the major emergencies.
Position # 4 is the main fire dispatcher. This is the dispatcher that dispatcher fire and EMS to the calls for service. This dispatcher has many important tasks. Tasks such as monitoring all the fire boxes in the city, as well as the surrounding cities and towns box. Waltham does send various apparatus to other communities for mutual aid. During a major incidents, the fire dispatcher relays key information to responding pieces of equipment, as well as out of town apparatus coming into the city for coverage. This position is also able to answer calls for service, and does so, when the main call takers are tied up on 9-1-1 or business calls.
Position # 5 and # 6 are both call takers positions. Neither of these positions have radio transmission capabilities. These positions are used to answer phones whether it may be a 9-1-1 call or business call. Both are often used by the supervisors to do various quality control reviews. Random calls are picked from each group and thoroughly gone over by the supervisor to assure all the right questions were asked and adequate help was dispatched.
| Below are some links of different
equipment that the Waltham 9-1-1 Center uses. A link to these web sites does not
represent an endorsement by the City of Waltham, by the author, or by any
employee of the Waltham 911 Center. There are many fine manufacturers of
public safety equipment and any visitor to this site with a professional
interest in such equipment is encouraged to evaluate them all.
Motorola
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