Fire Rescue

Enhanced 9-1-1 Division

Items of Interest

The Office of E-911 comes under the direction of Support Services Division of Alachua County Fire/Rescue Services. The Office is responsible for the following and other functions:

  1. Maintaining and ensuring the accuracy of the Automatic Location Information Database for Alachua County.
  2. Acting as liaison between the 911 service provider, private sector, other governmental agencies and the County�s E-911 system.
  3. Researching and developing plans to expand and upgrade the E-911 system
  4. Researching the latest technologies impacting 911 and devising strategies to integrate them into the 911 system.
  5. Coordinating the plan of information within the county and among outside agencies.
  6. Coordinating with local, state and federal agencies in maintaining all mandated requirements.
  7. Maintaining computer-based mapping systems for emergency location purposes.
  8. Coordinating the collection of data for street addressing of local communities.

The Office of E-911 is governed by Florida Statute 365.171, the statute providing the basis and funding source for Enhanced 911 systems in the state. This statute is further defined by the State of Florida 9-1-1 Emergency Telephone Number Plan.

What does "enhanced" mean in a 911 system?

There are five types of 911 systems operating in Florida � Type 1, or Basic, through Type 5, Fully Enhanced. Alachua County operates a Type 4 Enhanced 911 (E-911) system. A Type 4 Enhanced System provides certain advanced features including Automatic Number Identification (ANI), Automatic Location Identification (ALI), selective routing and selective transfer. In a Type 4 system these complex features are supplied and regulated by the telephone company (the 911 service provider), and monitored by the County 911 Coordinator.

Automatic Number Identification (ANI): The phone number of the caller is automatically displayed at the call taker�s station with the incoming call. This allows the call taker to call the party back in the event a call is disconnected.

Automatic Location Identification (ALI): The caller�s address is automatically displayed at the call taker�s station with the incoming call. This allows a call taker to dispatch help even if the caller is incapacitated, unaware of the location, disconnected or otherwise unable to communicate their address.

Selective Routing: This feature allows each telephone number to be tagged with an Emergency Service Number (ESN). The ESN designates which Call Center the call is routed to, and which responding agencies have the address in their jurisdiction. The selective routing feature is what differentiates a Type 4 system from a Type 3 system, and is considered to be an extremely important feature in an enhanced system.

Selective Transfer: Also called one button transfer, this feature is driven by the ESN of the selective routing feature. It allows the call taker to transfer the call to the proper responding agency by pressing a single button.

For more information on Alachua County�s Enhanced 911 System, contact the Alachua County 911 Coordinator Susan Nelson, at 352-338-7361.