A major step has been taken towards a more efficient emergency response service to north-central B.C.
At its monthly board meeting yesterday (Oct. 17), the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George (RDFFG) agreed to ‘moving forward’ on borrowing $3 million to improve the region’s 9-1-1 service, which is more than half of the project’s $5 million budget.
This comes in loom of the RDFFG’s completion of the Alternate Approval Process and according to a release, submissions in response to the proposed borrowing came from less than 10 per cent of voters.
Details of the new 9-1-1 service include a brand new dispatch centre based in Prince George.
It specifically suggests relocating the service headquarters to the new Prince George Fire Hall, currently being constructed on Massey Drive next to the YMCA of Northern BC, as well as a back-up location should any problems come into play.
New federal requirements for emergency response are also being planned, so the RDFFG would also include the most up-to-date technology for the proposed system.
This is known as Next Generation 9-1-1, which is in the works to start running in 2023.
