WAGIS2018

Washington State has moved from an Enhanced 911 to a Next Generation emergency call routing system (NextGen 911). Next Generation 911 is a location-based call routing system comprised of Emergency Services IP networks (ESInets). This system allows for a variety of call types (land line, cell phone, VOIP) and differing communication methods (voice, messaging, email, pictures and video) to transmit information to county 911 centers known as Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). With the implementation of NG 911, the Master Street Address Guide is replaced with multiple GIS layers, including: polygon layers for the three types of emergency services (fire, law, and emergency medicals service), a roads layer with address fields, and a polygon layer for the PSAPs in each county. In this new NG 911, when a caller dials 911 from a landline the road layer is used to assign the call a longitude, latitude, and a point-in-poly query is applied to determine the correct PSAP and emergency response agencies for the caller’s location.
This panel will discuss what exactly that means for GIS professionals in Washington State at a local and state level in addition to bringing in the perspective of our keynote speaker, Ty Wooten, who works at the federal level for NENA.