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1. For whom does the Ponca City Communications Center receive and dispatch calls?

The Ponca City Communications Center is unique in that it receives and dispatches emergency calls from the northeast part of Oklahoma stretching all the way to the Oklahoma-Kansas state line. They dispatch to 11 volunteer fire departments (McCord, Osage, Kildare, Newkirk, Marland, and more) and transfer calls to smaller police departments close to Ponca City. They also have the ability to transfer calls to three other communications centers in Tonkawa, Blackwell and Kay County. The Communications Center also dispatches ambulances to the northern portion of Noble County. Some Osage County 9-1-1 cell phone calls come into Ponca City’s Communication Center as well, and they are transferred to the correct local responders. Some area Oklahoma Highway Patrol calls are also dispatched through the Ponca City Communication Center.

2. Can the Enhanced 9-1-1 system identify cellular phone calls?

While the Enhanced 9-1-1 system can identify all land line calls, not all calls from cellular phones can be identified. The Ponca City Communications Center has incoming phone lines from Phase One of the Enhanced 9-1-1 system that identify only the number of the incoming cellular call. The Center also has Phase Two lines which will identify both the number and the location within 100 meters of the incoming cellular call. The equipment’s ability to identify cell phone callers is dependent on the caller’s cellular phone company. Many cellular service companies still have yet to upgrade their technology to provide this information for emergency services; and at this point, only Sprint and On-Star provide that safety feature for their customers.