A dangerous dilemma in Snohomish County is frustrating firefighters, sometimes causing significant confusion and delaying response times.
First responders blame a new 911 dispatch system for the problems, and they're not the first in our area to deal with it.
NORCOM in Bellevue was one of the first agencies to adopt a program called New World. Dispatchers field up to 700 emergency calls every day. That pressing workload leaves no room for error or delay.
"Lives are at stake, and when lives are at stake, seconds count. We don't get a second chance to do it over again," said Tom Orr, executive director at NORCOM.
NORCOM just marked a milestone by going 120 days without a significant problem caused by the New World dispatch software, which it has been using to dispatch police officers. It's a far cry from the failures that cropped up when NORCOM first rolled out the system several years ago.
"Right in the middle of an armed robbery, the entire system shut down," Orr said. "And I believe there was a pursuit involved at the time, so it was very critical."
About six months ago, SNOPAC in Everett made the switch to New World. For some first responders, it's been a disaster.
During one radio transmission, a firefighter can be heard saying, "If you could relay that to your boss, this New World system is gonna get somebody killed."
Kurt Mills, who oversees SNOPAC, said the problems stem from issues with technology, staff training and configuration. He also points out that a lot of shortcomings are now fixed.