The City of Wichita now publicly reporting improvements made by WPD
15 June 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Sedgwick County Emergency Communications addressed issues concerning their new 911 computer-aided dispatch system Wednesday afternoon.
The department has received backlash online regarding slow response times and calls being transferred. They explained that they do not transfer callers, and certain times of the day result in slowdowns.
“We are going to answer the call. We are going to answer as fast as we can. We are going to get you help as fast as we can,” said Elora Forshee, Director of Sedgwick County Emergency Communications.
The department implemented the new system in May, replacing a 15-year-old system.
“Are there issues with the new system, yes. Some of those issues are an easy fix. Some of them take a little longer to fix,” said Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter.
Forshee says the biggest issue they faced involved the automatic alerting system for fire stations.
“We did have to manually alert fire stations instead of that being an automated process. The alert was still there. It just wasn’t as seamless as it typically is,” explained Forshee.
She says the problem is now fixed, and their board now has backup plans if similar issues arise in the future.
The focus is now answering calls in a timely manner.
“In 2022, we averaged about 80 percent of calls answered in 15 seconds. The industry standard is 90 percent in 15 seconds, so we know that we want improvement in that area,” said Forshee.
The Wichita Fire Union took to Facebook, saying one citizen waited five minutes before reaching an operator. Forshee clarified that the incident took two and a half minutes before a response. Wichita Firefighters IAFF Local 135 President Ted Bush says that response time is still unacceptable.
“A call is different two and a half minutes later than it was when they called. I want the system to be fixed. I want it to work for our citizens and our firefighters because the safety of our citizens and firefighters go hand in hand,” said Bush.
Bush says he supports and advocates for all dispatchers. His biggest concern is citizen and first responder safety.
Forshee says they will discuss solutions with the Advisory Board, which includes officials from local police and fire departments, to find ways to improve response times. Bush believes meeting with the Fire Union would contribute valuable insight.
“I don’t have any problem telling the truth and saying the uncomfortable things that need to be said to get things fixed,” explains Bush, “This is a system that has to work all the time.”