Ruth Brown, Idaho Falls Post Register (Idaho)

A building that once housed Idaho Falls fire trucks and ambulances today is a high-tech communications center.

The newly renovated Bonneville County Emergency Communications Center handles all first-responder calls throughout Idaho Falls and Bonneville County, as well as the communities of Ucon, Iona and Swan Valley.

Dispatchers began working out of the renovated portion of the building in February after construction broke ground last August. The total cost of the renovation was just under $500,000.

Bonneville County Commissioner Roger Christensen said the refurbished center is technologically advanced.

“”We decided if we are doing (the renovation), we might as well do it right and build for the future,”” Christensen said.

Money for the renovation came from a $1 monthly 911 fee paid by every county resident with phone service. Members of the local news media will be touring the new center later today.

Each dispatcher’s desk is equipped with six monitors. Those screens provide access to radio calls, criminal records, driver’s license information, recorded 911 calls and maps, as well as the location of every on-duty first responder in the county.

Their desks adjust to standing or sitting positions with the push of a button. Dispatchers can adjust their own heat and fans to personal preference. Dispatchers also can surround themselves with white noise, if they so choose, to increase focus.

They no longer have to solely rely on radio transmissions. Dispatchers can use a computer data link and Internet provider to transmit emergency calls, increasing reliability.

“Anything that benefits the first responders is a direct benefit to the citizens,” said Greg Warner, director of the communications center. “(The new equipment) keeps them safer and it’s quicker and more efficient.”

Before the renovation, the center featured six work stations – it now has 10. In addition, the center has the capability of running multiple dispatch centers, not just Bonneville County dispatching. For example, if Madison County went offline in a disaster, the county could use the Bonneville County center without disruption.

The old phone system, which was more than 20 years old, also was upgraded, and the renovated center features a secure radio link to Fremont, Madison and Jefferson counties, allowing communication through what amounts to a regional intercom system.

The renovated building also can serve more than daily 911 dispatching needs. The new conference room could serve as an emergency operations center during a major incident. The conference room walls are covered in IdeaPaint, which turns the surfaces into giant dry-erase whiteboards.

It also features a “”quiet room”” for dispatchers. The private room is a place where a dispatcher who just handled a traumatic 911 call, for example, can go to have a moment to calm down, Warner said.

Dispatcher Lindsey Ervin said she loves the new system because it identifies which officer is calling.

“”We can know which officer needs assistance this way,”” said Ervin, a dispatcher for 11 years. “”Prior to this, you had to know their voice.””

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