Blog | 911 Emergency Dispatcher | 911 Emergency Dispatch

Vancouver B.C., May 27, 2020–Increased radio coverage, audio clarity and enhanced security are just some of the features now available to Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service after the department successfully transitioned to E-Comm’s Wide-Area Radio Network this morning. 

Abbotsford firefighters began communicating over the P25 digital network today at 0830hrs. This is the 16^th fire department in the Lower Mainland to become part of the E-Comm radio system. More than three dozen police, fire, ambulance and other public agencies are on the network – including Abbotsford Police Department who joined in 2011.

“I’m pleased with Abbotsford’s new partnership with E-Comm,” said Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun, “Public safety is always at the front of mind for our community and this improved communication is a positive step for our community.”

 “It’s critical for Abbotsford Fire Rescue Services to be able to communicate directly with our police and ambulance partners,” said Abbotsford Fire Chief Don Beer. “Now that we’re on the E-Comm system, we’re all able to talk with each other seamlessly when responding to multi-agency events like car crashes and large-scale hazmat incidents.” Chief Beer also cited significant safety improvements through increased area coverage and audio quality as additional benefits of the radio transition, along with noise-cancelling technology to reduce background sounds and allow responders to be heard more clearly in noisy environments. 

The fully encrypted P25 network allows first responder communication to be kept extra secure. The privacy of the public, who are being assisted by emergency services, is better protected during the necessary transmittal of personal and private information over the voice network.

“Firefighters often work in challenging environments such as collapsing buildings, fire-engulfed structures and underground concrete spaces where radio coverage has traditionally been an issue,” added Oliver Grüter-Andrew, E-Comm President and CEO. “Being able to provide enhanced radio coverage and audio quality is a critical part in keeping our first responder partners safe.”

The addition of Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service to the E-Comm radio network continues the public safety partnership between E-Comm and the City of Abbotsford. E-Comm began providing fire dispatch services for Abbotsford on February 22, 2019. E-Comm has also been the first point of contact for 9-1-1 callers in Abbotsford since September 19, 2017, the same day the organization began providing dispatch services for the Abbotsford Police Department.

BC Emergency Health Services within Metro Vancouver and Abbotsford, all police agencies in Metro Vancouver and Abbotsford and 16 fire departments in Metro Vancouver use the E-Comm Wide-Area Radio Network. The network has about 10,000 activate or available radios. In 2019, firefighters, police officers and paramedics made 48.9 million transmissions on the network.

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Media Resources:

About E-Comm

E-Comm is the first point of contact for 9-1-1 callers in 25 regional districts in British Columbia and provides dispatch services for more than 70 police agencies and fire departments. E‐Comm also owns and operates the largest multi‐jurisdictional, tri‐service, wide‐area radio network in the province used by police, fire and ambulance personnel throughout Metro Vancouver and parts of the Fraser Valley.

About Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service

The Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service is responsible for the prevention and suppression of fires, the mitigation of the effects of dangerous goods incidents, assisting in the rescue of people from potentially dangerous situations, and assisting with medical emergencies in Abbotsford.

The Department operates eight Fire Halls. Career firefighters are assisted by auxiliary firefighters who are paged when required. Career firefighters operate out of Fire Hall 1, Fire Hall 2, Fire Hall 6 and Fire Hall 8, with one engine each. Career staffing enables the Fire Rescue Service to provide 24-hour year-round emergency response capabilities for fires, rescues, and other emergencies.

Media Contacts

Kelly Furey
E-Comm Corporate Communications

Alex Mitchell
Public Affairs Officer
City of Abbotsford

Emergency call takers and dispatchers are the backbone of B.C.’s emergency response system. They answer the most difficult 9-1-1 calls with calming and reassuring voices to making sure that you get the help you need.

To recognize the dedicated work of emergency call takers, dispatchers, technology specialists and support personnel, the Province of British Columbia has declared April 5 – 11 as Emergency Service Dispatchers’ and 9-1-1 Awareness Week.

Follow E-Comm on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn) throughout the week to see some words of appreciation from our police and fire partners and to share your shout-outs or stories!

Vancouver, B.C.—E-Comm and CUPE Local 873, the Union that represents the company’s 533 Bargaining Unit employees, announced today that a new Collective Agreement has been achieved through binding interest arbitration.

Under the four-year agreement, employees will receive a 2% increase in year one with a 2.5% increase in each of years two and three, plus a 3% increase in year four). The new Collective Agreement is effective from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022. The deal also includes a 3% market adjustment for emergency communications employees, above and beyond the general wage increase, in recognition of the complexity and demands of the job.   

“We recognize and appreciate the critical role our employees play in emergency communications, and the valuable work they do every day keeping British Columbians safe,” says E-Comm CEO Oliver Grüter-Andrew. “Now that the arbitration process is complete, we’re looking forward to working with the Union and our partner agencies to continue advancing public safety in B.C., while ensuring labour stability for the first responder community.”

E-Comm and CUPE Local 873 began collective bargaining in April 2019 and pursued mediation through the Labour Relations Board (LRB) in October 2019. The LRB appointed Vince Ready as the arbitrator for E-Comm and CUPE Local 873 in December 2019, after both parties mutually agreed to move to binding interest arbitration.

E-Comm is responsible for 99% of the province’s 9-1-1 call volume and handled more than 1.84 million 9-1-1 calls in 2019. For more information about E-Comm, visit ecomm911.ca.  

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About E-Comm
E-Comm is the first point of contact for 9-1-1 callers in 25 regional districts in British Columbia and provides dispatch services for more than 70 police agencies and fire departments. E‐Comm also owns and operates the largest multi‐jurisdictional, tri‐service wide‐area radio network in the province used by police, fire and ambulance personnel throughout Metro Vancouver and parts of the Fraser Valley.

Media Contact
Jasmine Bradley
E-Comm Corporate Communications

From Ladysmith to Sooke and from the Gulf Islands to Victoria, residents of central and southern Vancouver Island have now been receiving 9-1-1 and police dispatch services from the South Island 9-1-1/Police Dispatch Centre, located in Saanich, for one full year. Built and owned by the Capital Regional District (CRD) and operated by E-Comm, the South Island 9-1-1/Police Dispatch Centre officially opened on March 6, 2019.

The centre merges 9-1-1 call-answer, police call-taking and dispatch services for the Central Saanich, Oak Bay, Saanich and Victoria police departments and 11 RCMP detachments in the central and southern Vancouver Island region. Previously, 9-1-1 calls and police dispatch services in the region were managed by three call centres in Victoria, Langford and Saanich..

Since the centre opened, it has handled 134,452 9-1-1 calls from central and southern Vancouver Island.

The following videos chronicle each agency’s transition into the building, culminating in the grand opening event on March 6, 2019:

In 2019, we answered more than 1.8 million 9-1-1 calls in B.C.! 97% of those calls were answered in 5 seconds or less.

From those calls:

• 67 per cent of calls were for police
• 27 per cent of calls were for ambulance
• 6 per cent of calls were for fire

Find out more about our 9-1-1 call statistics.

We also received a total of 23 Text with 9-1-1 (T9-1-1) calls in 2019. T9-1-1 is a specialized texting service available for people who are Deaf/Deaf-Blind, Hard-of Hearing or Speech Impaired (DHHSI) that allows registered users to communicate with 9-1-1 call-takers through text. Find out more about T9-1-1.