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TextCounty’s 9-1-1 Center Receives State Accreditation
Fairfax County Office of Public
Affairs
12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 551
Fairfax, VA 22035-0065
703-324-3187, TTY 703-324-2935, FAX 703-324-2010
Aug. 22, 2005
County’s 9-1-1 Center Receives State Accreditation
Fairfax County’s Department of Public Safety Communications has been recognized as an accredited 9-1-1 center by the Virginia Department of Health, Office of Emergency Medical Services. To receive this accreditation, a center must have an approved emergency medical dispatch program that trains communications officers to provide emergency medical pre-arrival instructions to callers needing EMS response.
“Accreditation is given to communication centers that use standardized emergency medical dispatch standards set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,” noted State Health Commissioner Robert B. Stroube, M.D., M.P.H. “It is paramount that these professionals keep a calm, even demeanor when dealing with people who don’t always know what their problem is; they just know they need help.”
The Department of Public Safety Communications is a combined police, fire and emergency medical services dispatch facility. It is the public safety answering point for all 9-1-1 calls dialed in Fairfax County, including the towns of Herndon and Vienna, and the City of Fairfax. The department is also the answering point for non-emergency calls for service for Police, Fire and Rescue. The center answers more than 1.2 million calls a year.
The Department of Public Safety Communications is located at the Richard A. King, Pine Ridge Facility, 3911 Woodburn Road, Annandale.
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Editor’s Note: For more on the state’s accreditation program, contact Ken Crumpler, EMS communications coordinator with the Virginia Department of Health, Office of Emergency Medical Services, at 804-864-7642 or by e-mail at ken.crumpler@vdh.virginia.gov.
Department of Public Safety Communications
Mission Statement: As professional telecommunicators, we are the critical
link that provides Fairfax County and neighboring jurisdictions with
technical and operational excellence in processing and dispatching public
safety resources. Our commitment is to calmly and compassionately respond
to all requests
for assistance. We are the first first responders.
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