911 Emergency Services

On May 23, our Club members were treated to a description of the 911 Emergency Services system of York County.  Matt Hobson, Director of Emergency Services for York County, explained the history of the 911 service in York County.  Mr. Hobson has more than 30 years of experience in public safety.

York County is a large county, including 911 square miles of land and 450,000 citizens who live in 72 different municipalities.  The 911 services were initiated in July 1970 and have been “on the air’ 24/7 ever since.  The 911 Communications Center handles more than 1100 calls daily or more than 400,000 calls each year. 

There are more than 50 communications specialists on duty during any given day who handle incoming calls for police, medical, fire, and other emergencies.  Each specialist must determine the urgency of the call and then help the caller, if necessary, deal with his or her emergency and dispatch the appropriate resource to deal with the problem.

Mr. Hobson assumed the position of director 3 years ago and has elevated the local model of 911 service to one which has been copied by other service providers.

Following the talk, Cody Santiago, the Director of the York County Office of Emergency Management, gave members a tour of the facility.  Mr. Santiago has been involved in public safety for more than 18 years.