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Atlantic County fire, EMS leaders renew push for centralized 911 dispatch citing NextGen 911 timeline
Summary
County fire and EMS leaders urged the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners to pursue a centralized 911 call- and dispatch-center to address fragmented public-safety answering points (PSAPs), improve location accuracy under NextGen 911 and shorten response delays.
Atlantic County fire and EMS leaders told the Board of Commissioners that the county’s 13 separate public-safety answering points (PSAPs) create dangerous delays and that centralizing 911 call taking and dispatch is now urgent because of an impending NextGen 911 technology transition.
At a presentation to the board, Howard Berchtold, a longtime volunteer fire service leader, said Atlantic County remains the only county in New Jersey without a consolidated dispatch system and that fragmentation increases the time it takes to get help to people in life‑threatening situations. “It’s about life, not just property,” Berchtold said.
The presenters described recurring examples where 911 calls were routed to the wrong center, calls dropped or were transferred multiple times and mutual‑aid activations required phone calls to several dispatch centers. Danny Adams, Margate Fire Department chief and a member of the county fire leadership…
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