Lela Garlington, The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Within the next two months, the Shelby County 911 board will be advertising to see who can build a county computerized map to help emergency dispatchers do a better job of getting police, fire or medical personnel where they need to go.

Mapping almost 6,000 miles of public streets and 482,000 structures with addresses won’t be easy. It will require driving all the streets and roads in the county. That’s roughly the equivalent of a round-trip excursion from Philadelphia to Seattle.

It is expected to cost $3 million to $6 million and take 15 to 18 months to complete.

Before any of the existing dispatch centers can use the new geographical information system map, all of them will have to update its computer-aided dispatch systems so they will be compatible with a new map. Currently, each dispatch center operates its own computerized maps, and not all the centers have maps that go outside a city’s boundaries.

“Everyone will be playing off the same map, the same boundaries,” said Raymond Chiozzo, executive director of the Shelby County Emergency Communications District 911 Board.

The 911 Board decided to shift funds away from a proposed jointly operated dispatch center last October. The plans called for a new 911 building able to withstand natural disasters.

After suburban officials decided they wanted to keep their own dispatch centers in operation, plans switched for Memphis and Shelby County to put up a combined $9.4 million while the 911 board would chip in $23 million. While the County Commission voted in favor of the project last year, no deal could be worked out with Memphis city officials. The $23 million will now go to technology upgrades.

Monthly fees that users of land lines and cell phones pay for 911 service funds the Shelby County 911 organization.

In all, there are nine dispatch centers with police departments in Memphis, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Millington, Naval Support Activity and the Shelby County Sheriff’s office. Both Memphis Fire and Shelby County Fire have separate centers. Lakeland and Arlington rely on the Shelby County sheriff’s office and the fire department for its calls.

A dispatcher, handling a call where a woman had fallen, worked on five computer screens in front of her – three on top and two on bottom.

One screen showed a street map but without any block numbers or building structures identified. “It is not as specific as GIS-based,” said Memphis Fire Watch Cmdr. Teresa Gordon.

With the new computerized system, Gordon said, “It will improve the accuracy and speed with the call taking.”

Already, Gordon said all the city ambulances have advanced vehicle locators that pinpoint where each ambulance is at any given time.

Last year, Memphis Fire answered 124,324 emergency fire or ambulance calls. Still, there’s one thing no dispatch center will likely give up.

On the wall, the center has three giant maps detailing Shelby County and the surrounding areas. Handy Maps also are at each dispatcher’s desk.

“We rely on electricity,” Gordon said. But in the event it goes out, she’s quick to say: “We go back to paper, pretty much.”

Shelby County: by the Numbers
Whoever is hired to build a digital map of Shelby County will involve an area of 784 square miles with:

• 482,000 structures with addresses
• 348,075 parcels with no structures
• 5,695 miles of public streets and interstates

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