Emergency Call Center

About the Program

Category: Risk and Emergency Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2014

Boulder County created a public Emergency Call Center to help relieve the 911 Communications Center of the thousands of telephone calls placed by our residents requesting information during disasters. In the past several years, Boulder County has experienced several large scale disasters including the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire, at the time was the most destructive fire in state history, and most recently, the September 2013 Flood, a federally declared disaster. The Call Center was activated for both of these incidents, and for several others, and played a critical role in getting information to and from our residents. The Call Center operations and functions have grown over time and it now helps provide a range of information and services to our residents. It has become an integral part of the Emergency Operations Center, with an official place at the table as a designated resource under Emergency Support Function 15/External Affairs. The planning, training and logistics behind the Call Center has helped make it one of the most innovative and unique programs in the country.