Media Advisory

New HRM Integrated Dispatch and Telecommunication Centre Opened

(Friday, November 18/05)-- Mayor Peter Kelly, Regional Councillors, representatives of the federal and provincial governments, as well as public safety stakeholders and service providers, were on hand today for the official opening of HRM’s new Integrated Dispatch and Telecommunications Centre (IDTC.)

The new centre, located in the Eric Spicer Building in Woodside, marks a major advance in consolidating HRM’s Emergency and Non-Emergency Call Taking and Dispatch Services in one new state-of-the-art facility.

Also, it allows for closer integration of emergency and non-emergency call taking and dispatch in close proximity to the Joint Federal, Provincial and Municipal Emergency Operations Centre. HRM joins the ranks of municipalities such as Montreal, Toronto, Windsor and Calgary in investing in the infrastructure to support public safety and service delivery.

Integrated Emergency Services (IES) is the public safety communications section for the HRM. During the 2004 calendar year, it answered 75,518 calls on the 9-1-1 line from areas in the former cities Halifax, Dartmouth and Town of Bedford. In June 2005, IES began to answer all 9-1-1calls within HRM.

IES provides emergency and non-emergency call taking and dispatching for the Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Services. There are sixty-three (63) stations served and last year, 13,545 fire calls were dispatched.

In June, the RCMP were added as a client of IES and this is expected to increase volume calls by 35-40 % in 2005.

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Mayor Peter Kelly
(902) 490-4010

Geri Kaiser
Director, HRM Shared Services
(902) 490-4630

Superintendent Bill Moore
HRM Integrated Emergency Services
(902) 490-7269