The Department

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Last Updated on Thursday, 14 May 2020 18:20
Written by WebAdmin

THE DEPARTMENT

The Montgomery County Department of Public Safety Emergency Communications Division is a Public Safety Answering Point for police, fire, emergency medical and emergency management services within the County. The County created its first Communications Center in 1956 and had an initial staff of 6 employees.


 

The service area of the Emergency Communications Division includes all of Montgomery County, which consists of 38 townships and 24 boroughs. The size of the county is approximately 483 square miles in area; is close to a rectangle in shape, about 15 miles by 35 miles, with the longer side on a northwest/southeast axis; and is bordered to the southeast by Philadelphia, the northeast by Bucks County and a portion of Lehigh County, the northwest by Berks County, the southwest by the Schuylkill River (with Chester County on the other side) and by Delaware County. The most dominant physical border is the Schuylkill River, which forms about two-thirds of the southwest side.

 

The communications center receives 9-1-1 and other emergency phone calls placed from locations within our jurisdictions. We also receive non-emergency phone calls. The center provides call processing and dispatch services for 91 Fire Departments, 22 EMS Squads, 50 Police agencies and other various County agencies.