Plans Being Developed For New Emergency Communication Options On Cape Cod

HYANNIS – Efforts are continuing to enhance first responder communications on Cape Cod. 

The Sandwich Select Board recently approved a plan to pursue a dispatch center agreement with Barnstable and Yarmouth. Barnstable County Sheriff Donna Buckley says these are parallel efforts to the new regional emergency communications center being pushed by the sheriff’s office.

Currently, the sheriff’s telecommunications center, located on Joint Base Cape Cod, answers 911 calls for more than half of the fire departments on the Cape.

Buckley says they are currently at full capacity and are aggressively working to expand to accommodate additional departments.

The current roster is: the fire departments of Mashpee, Orleans, Harwich, Wellfleet, Brewster, Bourne, Dennis, the West Barnstable Fire District, the Barnstable Fire District, and Joint Base Cape Cod. The BCSO Regional Emergency Communications Center also serves as the 911 Public Safety Answering Point for Joint Base Cape Cod and the towns of Brewster, Chatham, Falmouth, Harwich, Mashpee, Orleans and Wellfleet.

The BCSO Center provides centralized medical emergency direction for not only Barnstable County but parts of Bristol, Dukes and Plymouth counties. The center also coordinates the mutual aid system used during large-scale emergencies.

Since taking office, Buckley has met with many town leaders concerning the benefits of regional dispatch. The sheriff says the continued escalation of equipment upgrades and operational costs, and the challenges associated with securing and retaining professional public safety telecommunicators, have made the benefits of a regional model more attractive than ever before. 

The BCSO has assembled a multi-agency working group which includes the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance and the State 911 Department. They are currently looking for locations for the new center while also pursuing state funding for design. 

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