Periodically, I like to mention to those of my friends, clients and anyone else who I bump into, who work behind multi-line telephone systems (main listed number and numerous extensions in varying locations known as MLTS) about emergency information. As is the case with security systems, it is to be hoped that no one will ever need to dial 911 in the event of a medical or other emergency. But the fact remains that such calls DO need to be made, and when they do, time can absolutely be of the essence. A first responder has no more than 4 minutes to get to someone in cardiac or other medical distress. Simply put, that’s not very much time.
While New York has not yet taken steps to require specific obligations for managing emergency information, legislation or not, under OSHA and some other state and federal statutes as well, employers have an ongoing obligation to provide safe work environments for employees. It wouldn’t take much for even a marginal litigator to prove that an employer’s failure to plan for an emergency situation creates, among other things, a significant (read: expensive and potentially deadly) OSHA violation.
The bottom line of any emergency response program is its ability to find someone in need. In the “biz,” this is called “location granularity,” and it refers to the amount of specificity that is provided to the 911 center when someone picks up a phone and calls looking for help. When you call 911 from a landline at home, your street address, as well as the cross streets on either side are provided to the Public Safety Access Point person who answers the phone. When a call is made from behind an MLTS (translation: when a call is made from a desk in an MLTS environment), where the caller id may only show the main listed number, there’s a problem, particularly when the office is large and not located either on a single floor or in a single building. As multi line telephone systems have become increasingly sophisticated, it has become much easier to manage the location granularity within the phone system. The bottom line is that the first responder (fire, paramedic, etc) must be able to find the person in need as quickly as possible.
While legal obligations for reporting in multiline telephone systems vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction (NY, at this time, imposes no such requirements), internal granularity—that is, having someone inside the company know from precisely where the call to 911 was made is both easy to manage and cost effective to implement. This is a marked contrast to keeping the same information current with the local carrier or another third party on the “outside” who needs to be in the loop every time a new employee starts or moves workspaces from one office location to another.
At the risk of getting a little technical (for those who are still with me), the only information that the phone system itself sends out when an emergency number is dialed is the phone number from which the call was made. That information is then run through a database that’s external to the phone system managed at the Local Exchange Carrier (Verizon, Windstream, Time Warner among others)and matched with some sort of physical location information that can be provided in 20 characters or less (which isn’t very much). For this reason ACCURATE CALLER ID information is critical. However, even location-specific information (in 20 characters or less) is useless unless the responder understands how to read the office map and understands the 20 character or less location identification information. What’s critical is that relevant data that’s already built in to the in-house network and is understandable beyond the network control center be sent promptly to public safety. In short, it says “I need help, I'm here, come get me!“
According to Mark Fletcher, perhaps the most knowledgeable and well-respected 911 professional in the business, (not only formerly an EMT and police dispatcher, but an Avaya employee as well) whether or not statutory obligations exist regarding emergency information notification, it’s critical that within a specific building or facility that manageable response zones located within the building or specific location that provide location-based discovery and routing be created. This means that large spaces be divided into zones for easy identification when an emergency call is made. Secondly, internal databases must be updated in an ongoing and timely way. Thirdly, there must be a vehicle for notifying in-house personnel when a call is made so that when the ambulance shows up, the paramedics can be directed to the right location as quickly as possible. After all, internal first responders are best able to coordinate with public safety officials to ensure the quickest possible response when time is absolutely of the essence. Fletcher puts it this way, "Public safety dispatchers need to get responders to the right location. Telling them that the caller is in Cube 2C231 is the same as saying 'I'm having chest pains, and I'm wearing blue socks.' It’s irrelevant information at that point in the emergency." Emergency responders responding to the scene need situational awareness, and that is best provided by staff on scene who understand what is going on and have taken steps to ensure door are unlocked, paths are clear, etc. Fletcher added, "First responders don't like to walk into a lobby of a building, only to be asked 'What are you guys doing here?' Internal awareness to emergent events can shave life saving minutes from the response time."
Finally, there are many sophisticated and cool products that can be secured to interact with a multi line telephone system to assist in the event of a 911 call. However, the best step to take first when considering these options is to make a call to the local police and/or fire and speak with them to determine what information they will find most useful in the event of an emergency. After all, they’ll be the ones dispatched to address the problem, and it only makes sense that they should be consulted before any important, but potentially costly investment is made.