New 9-1-1 technology will allow text messages to be sent to Manatee County Emergency Communications Center in future

MANATEE -- Imagine being able to send a text message to 9-1-1 with a photo and/or video from an incident in Manatee County.

That capability is on the horizon for Manatee County's Emergency Communications Center, thanks to the new Next Generation VESTA 9-1-1 call handling solution.

"We will be able to handle those and process it and move it to where we need it to," said Ernie McFarland, technical systems support coordinator for Manatee County's Emergency Communications Center.

In November, Manatee County rolled out the Airbus DS Communications call handling system and work will soon take place to allow the Next Generation capabilities.

"A picture is worth a thousand words," McFarland said. "Although we aren't doing it today, the system is capable of processing it. ... We bought the infrastructure that is going to allow us. It's going to happen."

The new 9-1-1 system cost $935,990, McFarland said, adding that Manatee County has been an Airbus customer for a long time.

"We were simply at the end of life on our previous system and we had to do something," he said. "What we did was make the leap to Next Generation 9-1-1."

The 9-1-1 calls were really behind where the citizens are in terms of technology, said Flynn Nogueira, marketing director for Airbus DS Communications.

"What Manatee has done is really important," she said. "They are taking the first critical step in laying the foundation for call handling going forward."

But with the upgraded sys

tem, the call takers won't notice much difference, Nogueira said.

"Call takers don't have time to learn a huge brand new complicated system," she said.

There are enhanced features for the 911 operators, McFarland said. Manatee County has about 45 call takers who processed 248,935 calls in 2015, according to Manatee County's public safety department Twitter feed. April 10-16 is National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week.

"The new 9-1-1 system is geo-diverse, with the four separate locations supported by two backroom systems that can operate the entire 9-1-1 network independently should one fail during large scale emergencies such as hurricanes," a news release states. "In addition, the system also features the VESTA intuitive user interface, which makes it easy for call takers to quickly change locations, monitor and respond to calls in queue, countywide."

This new system, which Airbus DS Communications released in December 2012, has "moved faster than any system that we have implemented," Nogueira said.

"The big push is to help all our customers become Next Generation ready," she said. "The end result is the investment is critical because what is does at the end of the day is help the county save more lives."

For people who are hearing impaired or people who may be compromised if they make a call, texting capability is "very, very important," she added.

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter @Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published April 11, 2016 at 11:10 PM with the headline "New 9-1-1 technology will allow text messages to be sent to Manatee County Emergency Communications Center in future ."