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Saturday, September 17, 1994 Page: 8A
911 system should cut, not raise, response times
Luzerne County’s efforts to establish 911 emergency service or streamline
existing emergency service in 76 municipalities are admirable. But county
leaders must address one pivotal concern head-on: The new system may slow
emergency response in some communities, because it threatens to lower the
efficiency of the response systems already in placeThat cost is unacceptable.
True, the slower response time often could be measured in mere seconds. But in
the world of emergency services, seconds count.
For example, we’re sympathetic to the Hazleton area’s dilemma over whether
to choose the Luzerne County 911 setup (which would be located in
Wilkes-Barre), or to retain and refine their current emergency response
system.
Either choice is expensive. However, Mayor John Quigley and Hazleton Police
Chief James Joseph’s reservations about going with the centralized service are
compelling.
The personal touch, and the knowledge of their hometown area, that
Hazleton-based dispatchers bring to their jobs understandably sets residents’
minds at ease. Just as understandably, an electronic nerve center a full 25
miles away would not inspire the same sense of well-being among worried
citizens.
The county’s efforts to introduce a regional 911 emergency-call system
retains our full support. But leaders of the effort must take care not to
“throw the baby out with the bath water” — that is, to weaken parts of the
existing system in their efforts to strengthen the whole.