Zetron, a global leader in integrated mission critical communications technology, announced today that the City of Brentwood, Tennessee (USA), Emergency 9-1-1 Center (Brentwood 911) has successfully deployed Zetron’s Max Call Taking on the statewide ESInet (Emergency Services IP Network) to support fully integrated voice and Text-to-9-1-1 services.

Brentwood 911 serves a 44 square mile area just south of Nashville with a population of 44,000 people. The emergency communications team recently completed a move into a brand-new facility shortly after going live on the statewide ESInet. Brentwood 911 elected to hold off on launching Text-to-9-1-1 service until after the cutover for multiple reasons, including the efficiency of having text and voice fully integrated, the cost savings of implementing the service just once (i.e., versus both before and after the cutover), and so they would not have to rely on the internet for text in the interim.

Because seconds matter in any police, fire or critical care emergency, the integration of Zetron’s MAX Call Taking with the statewide ESInet and the physical relocation of the team needed to be as seamless as possible, with no disruption to Brentwood 911 emergency services.

“It was a pretty simple process because we had great partners in Zetron, and CommTech here locally,” said Kathleen Watkins, Emergency Communications Supervisor for Brentwood 911. “We maintained a couple dispatchers in the old building and a couple in the new facility initially on the day of the move, but within just a few hours we had everyone fully up and running in our new space.”

In Brentwood 911’s new facility, its 12 full time dispatchers now take both text and voice calls within the same MAX Call Taking console, versus having separate applications for each, which optimizes team efficiency and ensures residents can access 9-1-1 services in whatever manner is best for them and the given emergency. Brentwood 911 was one of Zetron’s first MAX Call Taking customers to fully complete the cutover to the statewide ESInet in Tennessee last year.

“Our dispatchers love how easy it is to learn and use,” added Watkins. “The Text-to-9-1-1 integration doesn’t require any additional training and we were able to make the transition with no discernable disruption to services since our cutover.”

MAX Call Taking supports existing and emerging NENA i3 standards, offers built-in skills-based routing capable of sophisticated call distribution, optimizes a call taker’s ability to receive, process, and complete emergency 9-1-1 calls and texts, integrates i3 Text-to-9-1-1 calls to the call taker screen in a user-friendly format, and displays calls using local ESRI GIS data.

“The City of Brentwood is a long-time valued customer,” said Brandon Williams, Vice President, Global Sales for Zetron. “Their move to the ESInet and a new facility in the same year came with expected complexities, but through great collaboration, preparation, and a shared commitment to not missing a call, Brentwood 911 has become a true success story in transitioning to NG9-1-1 to better serve its community.”