The Township is set to upgrade its 911 Call Handling System in order to tighten the gap between County and local call transferring, TLS has learned.

Currently, when a call is placed to 911, which is routed to the County Dispatch, there’s up to a 90 second delay until calls are actually dispatched by the Lakewood emergency dispatchers, due to the transferring of information  between County and local systems. Those 90 seconds however, could sometimes mean the difference between life and death.

Committeeman Meir Lichtenstein – and Liaison to Emergency Services –  who is very familiar with the emergency term ‘seconds count’, proposed the necessary changes.

“This system will allow for more seamless information flow between the 911 and local dispatch,” Committeeman Meir Lichtenstein tells TLS. “It will provide for  more accurate and expedient dispatch.”

The new upgraded system will allow for the information to basically be   dropped into the local dispatcher’s systems, thus expediting the dispatching   of police, Fire or EMS/LFA personnel.

During the next Township Committee meeting, the Township will present the appropriation of the funds needed for the upgrade, which   is approximately $182,000. [TLS]