Augusta 911 center earns service award

The Augusta 911 Call Center has received national recognition for its services.

The center has been awarded the Outstanding 911 Call Center award from the Next Generation 911 Institute. The award recognizes a 911 center for overall excellence in serving the public, including handling of emergencies reported, deployment and management of new technologies.

The award will be accepted on the city's behalf by Augusta 911 Director Daniel Dunlap and members of his staff at the 16th annual 911 honor awards Feb. 13 in Washington.

"This award honors the hard work and achievements of the entire Augusta 911 staff," Dunlap said in a release. "This award proves their ongoing commitment to responding to emergency situations in a timely manner and helping our citizens receive the emergency assistance they need."

The call center has implemented text-to-911 and emergency fire dispatch call-talking protocols, training, public outreach and other ongoing enhancements in the past couple of months, Dunlap said.

City Administrator Janice Allen Jackson commended the 911 call center staff for their award.

"It is their determination to make our call center faster and more responsive that brings this award home to Augusta," Jackson said in the release. "911 is often considered the ‘forgotten’ portion of any public safety system. I hope this reassures our residents and visitors that ours is a high quality system from the moment they contact us in times of emergency. I could not be more proud of this department."

The Next Generation 911 Institute is a nonprofit organization that works with a congressional caucus to promote the use of the most advance and effective 911 tools around the country, according to the release. The organization is comprised of public safety officials, telecommunications and industry professionals, police makers, academia and concerned citizens.