911 project to improve system in emergencies

By ANGELA J. GATES
Collegian Staff Writer

A new 911 project aims to help emergency teams get to urgent situations faster and increase victims' chances of surviving emergencies.

The Enhanced 911 Project is designed to verify address and telephone information and make sure all Centre County residents are assigned a street address, said Susan Keller, assistant director of Centre County 911/Emergency Communications.

Some residents who live in remote areas may have rural route numbers instead of street addresses.

Representatives from L. Robert Kimball & Associates, a consulting firm, will be knocking on residents' doors and verifying number and address information, Keller said.

Penn State students who live off campus will be included in the verification process, she said.

Data collection for the Centre Region, the last area in Centre County to be updated, began last week and should be completed in seven to eight months, said Norm Spackman, Centre County 911 Addressing Coordinator.

Sgt. John Wilson of the State College Police Department said the enhanced 911 system will allow police to respond to an emergency call quicker because there won't be questions about a call's origin.

Emergency response units including Alpha Fire Co. and Alpha Community Ambulance Service also will benefit from the new program.

Anything that will help emergency response teams get to incidents quicker will help residents, said fire company Chief Shawn Kauffman.

"If we can get to incidents earlier, a lot of lives and property can be saved," Kauffman said.

The current 911 system only identifies the telephone number of the caller, Keller said. The enhanced system will show a map of the address as well as the phone number from where the call is being made.

Once every resident has an address, the Enhanced 911 Project can be implemented, Keller said.

The municipalities in the Centre Region included in the data collection are State College Borough and Harris, College, Patton, Ferguson and Halfmoon townships.