Regional 9-1-1 Program
9-1-1 Regional Program
The BVCOG Regional 9-1-1 program
oversees the planning, implementation and financial responsibilities of 9-1-1
service in six rural counties. The 9-1-1
service includes all the network, database, and equipment necessary for the
proper routing of 9-1-1 calls and text messages in Burleson, Grimes, Leon,
Madison, Robertson and Washington counties.
[NOTE: Brazos County is a 9-1-1
District and not included in the BVCOG Regional 9-1-1 Program. All activities, stats and facts exclude
Brazos County 9-1-1 District.]
BVCOG 9-1-1 Geographic
Information System (GIS) also serves as an integral resource for the county
addressing in the six regional counties.
BVCOG GIS assists with address, database maintenance and mapping
services. (See Regional GIS section below.)
The BVCOG Regional 9-1-1 Program
consists of seven Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) that answer over
120,000 calls for 9-1-1 service each year.
The 7 PSAPs answer 9-1-1 calls from a geographically designated service
area and are located at the Burleson County Sheriff’s Office, Grimes County
Sheriff’s Office, Leon County Sheriff’s Office, Madison County Sheriff’s
Office, Navasota Police Department, Robertson County Sheriff’s Office and
Washington County 9-1-1.
In 1987, the 70th Texas
Legislature created the Commission on State Emergency Communications (CSEC) to
administer state 9-1-1 service in those areas where service is provided by
Regional Planning Commissions (RPC). CSEC
oversees the 9-1-1 activities and allocated funds to the RPCs. For more information about funding of the
regional 9-1-1 program and applicable rules see the CSEC website. CSEC website
Text-to-9-1-1 is available in the BVCOG region. Sending a text message to 9-1-1 should
be used when making a voice call is not possible or would be unsafe. You should only text 9-1-1 in an
emergency. DO NOT TEXT and DRIVE. Pull over to a safe location before sending a
text to 9-1-1. Call if you can, text if
you can’t.
On March 1, 2016 CSEC adopted Rule 251.16 (Direct Access to
9-1-1 Service) to implement Kari’s Law. The law states:
For a multi-line telephone system that provides outbound dialing, Kari’s Law
requires direct access to 9-1-1 service without the caller having to first dial
an initial number, digit, prefix or other access number of code before dialing
9-1-1.
To learn more about Kari’s Law, please refer to the
following resources:
Regional Geographic Information System (GIS)
BVCOG’s regional GIS program assists the county database
maintenance projects in Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Robertson, and
Washington counties with mapping, validation and data processing associated
with rural addressing for 9-1-1. Each county has a database
maintenance/addressing coordinator that is responsible for assigning addresses
to new structures and mapping new roads in the rural part of the counties. Additionally, each county coordinator is
responsible for maintaining the Master Street Address Guide (MSAG), updating
the county maps with new roads and driveway point data, coordinating changes
with municipalities and correcting errors in the 9-1-1 database.
BVCOG’s 9-1-1 GIS program
implemented fully enhanced 9-1-1 Mapped Automatic Location Identification (ALI)
systems at the 7 regional PSAPs. Mapped ALI is the geographic display of the
9-1-1 call and text message on a digital map.
Landline calls that have physical addresses and are accurately displayed
on Mapped ALI, however wireless and text messages display an approximate
location usually within 150 meters.
For addressing information in the six rural counties
covered by the BVCOG Regional 9-1-1 Program, please click on the following links:
Next Generation
9-1-1 (NG911)
As of September 2021, the Regional
9-1-1 system deployed VESTA Router as provided by Motorola Solutions
Connectivity, Inc. (MSCI) and the fully redundant data centers are located at
two diverse locations in the state of Texas.
VESTA Router provides 9-1-1 call routing for the seven BVCOG regional
PSAPs. NG911 is an IP-based system that
allows digital information to flow from the 9-1-1 caller, through the 9-1-1 call-taker
and eventually onto emergency responders. The new system will provide for a
capable, more resilient system that will allow 9-1-1 to keep pace with
advancements in consumer communications technologies and trends.
In January 2024, the VESTA Router was upgraded to provide
not only the IP routing of the calls, but geospatial (map based) routing as
opposed to the traditional tabular routing.
The BVCOG Regional 9-1-1 Program is a fully compliant NextGen 9-1-1
system.
Public Awareness
Videos
For educational videos about 9-1-1, please click on the
following links:
Text-to-9-1-1 PSA by the Texas School for the Deaf
9-1-1 for Emergencies only
9-1-1: Getting Help is Easy – English and Spanish (Cell
Phone Sally from CSEC)
Text to 9-1-1 PSA
STATS AND FACTS
- The BVCOG regional 9-1-1 system consists of seven Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP’s) in six rural counties – Burleson, Grimes, Navasota PD, Leon, Madison, Robertson and Washington
- Annually, the seven PSAP’s have collectively answered more than 120,000 9-1-1 calls for service with more than 85% originating from a wireless telephone.
- Over $2 million in 9-1-1 funds were expended at the six-county level for 9-1-1 equipment, network, database, equipment maintenance, wireless services and county addressing projects in FY 2022-2023.
- Maintain addresses and 9-1-1 call routing of
over 260 wireless towers.
- Maintain up-to-date digital maps for six counties of over 21,000 roads (state, county, and private), over 103,000 structure driveways points, and numerous emergency service and PSAP boundary layers.
- FY 2024-2025 9-1-1 budget is approved for $2.3 million.