Emergency Communications
The Franklin County Department of Emergency Services handles all aspects of call receipt and call processing for all fire, emergency medical service (EMS) and law enforcement agencies, with the exception of the Pennsylvania State Police Chambersburg Barracks. All municipalities not having their own law enforcement agency are handled by the Pennsylvania State Police.
Statistics
- Franklin County covers an area of 772.22 square miles
- It has a population in excess of 157,000 residents.
- The 911 center processed 82,823 police, fire and emergency medical service incidents in 2023.
- In 2023 the center handled 111,820 phone calls.
- The center is staffed 24 hours a day by 26 budgeted full-time telecommunicators and eight budgeted part-time telecommunicators, who dispatch to 15 townships and seven boroughs.
- There are 21 fire departments,
- 17 EMS departments
- 6 full-time law enforcement departments.
The 911 center is operated under various state laws and maintains records and training certifications that exceed those requirements.
Quick Links
2024 Fact Sheet
Encrypted Vehicle Radio Security
FCDES New Radio Request Form
Liability Hold Harmless Agreement Purchases Programming
Fleet Map Reprogramming Standard Operating Guide 2013
APCO Addresses Questions and Uconnect
FCC Consumer Guide: VolP and 911 Services
Special Events Channel Policy
ICS 202 FCSE Form
Flex CAD Touch
Click on the link to view the Spillman Flex CAD Touch application. This app allows law enforcement, fire and EMS responders to log in and get their incident information and times.
Cell Phones and 911
In most areas of North America, residents have basic or enhanced 911 service from their landline phones in their homes or workplaces. Access to 911 from cell phones is very different from wired phones and also varies greatly around the country.
Basic 911
When the three-digit 911 number is dialed, the call is delivered across dedicated circuits to a call taker/dispatcher in a local public safety answering point (PSAP), or 911 center, who answers the call. The emergency and its location are communicated by voice between the caller and the call taker.
Enhanced 911 (E911)
In areas serviced by E911, the call is selectively routed and the local 911 center has equipment and database information that allow the call taker to see the caller’s phone number and address on a display. This lets them quickly dispatch emergency help, even if the caller is unable to communicate where they are or what the emergency is.
However, when 911 calls are made from wireless phones, the call may not be routed to the most appropriate 911 center, and the call taker doesn’t receive the callback phone number or the location of the caller. This presents life-threatening problems due to lost response time, if callers are unable to speak or don’t know where they are, or if they don’t know their wireless phone callback number and the call is dropped.
There are three stages that are referred to in implementing wireless 911.
Wireless E911 Phase 0
Wireless Phase 0 means that when a caller dials 911 from a cell phone, a call taker at a PSAP answers. The call taker may be at a state highway patrol PSAP, at a city or county PSAP many miles away, or at a local PSAP, depending on how the wireless 911 call is routed.
Wireless E911 Phase I
Phase I is the first step in providing better emergency response service to wireless 911 callers. When Phase I has been implemented, a wireless 911 call will come into the PSAP with the wireless phone call back number. This is important in the event the cell phone call is dropped and may even allow PSAP employees to work with the wireless company to identify the wireless subscriber. However, Phase I still doesn’t help call takers locate emergency victims or callers.
Wireless E911 Phase II
To locate wireless 911 callers, Phase II must have been implemented in the area by local 911 systems and wireless carriers. Phase II allows call takers to receive both the caller’s wireless phone number and his or her estimated location information.
Franklin County now accepts text messages to 911 for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon users.
It is highly encouraged to dial 911 first and utilize text as a final option.
Decoders and Pagers
All current station decoders located at all fire and EMS stations are property of Franklin County. Presently, Franklin County will be continuing to dispatch on low band (46.160 MHz) as well as the ultra high frequency system.
Franklin County will continue to dual-dispatch on ultra high frequency and low band (46.160 MHz) as equipment allows. Therefore, the purchase or replacement of pagers and choice of frequency resides with the department or owner, but we would suggest an ultra high frequency pager.