Allegheny County 911 to take calls from North Fayette Township residents
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Starting next week, the Allegheny County Emergency Services 911 Center will take emergency calls from residents in North Fayette instead of the township's police department.
Right now, North Fayette Township has its own dispatch center, better known as the ring-down center.
North Fayette Township Police Chief Donald Cokus said all fire, EMS and police calls will be coordinated through Allegheny 911, which should improve response times.
"Allegheny County Emergency Services is an elite center that dispatches the majority of police, fire and emergency medical services in Allegheny County," Cokus said. "ACES provides multiple dispatchers at any given time, should there be a critical incident. The North Fayette Police Department only staffs one PSD on duty at a time to handle numerous calls."
Some residents said they're hopeful it will bring improvements.
"I would hope that would be a seamless transition for people. It is an emergency type situation, and you would hope all the bugs would be worked out and they wouldn't have any problems," North Fayette Township resident Peggy Milnes said.
Others worry it could delay response times.
"If there is an issue, I've always felt secure knowing that our response time would be as fast as it is," resident Bill Linko said. "Local dispatch would know the area and know more accurate response time. Someone in Allegheny County may not know the roads here or the response time."
Cokus said the transition will save taxpayers about $500,000 a year since ACES is a free service that is offered to the communities in Allegheny County.
Cokus said three full-time dispatchers at North Fayette will make a lateral transfer to Allegheny 911.
KDKA-TV reached out to the union for Allegheny County 911 to see if the additional calls could add to the workload there, but we have not heard back. The move comes as the 911 center avoided a strike in March stemming from staffing issues, long hours and low wages.
A spokesperson for Allegheny County said the transition shouldn't change much. The change goes into effect on Aug. 3 at 8 a.m.
