Department of Emergency Services

History

Wicomico County Department of Emergency Services began as Wicomico County Central Alarm in 1975. Central Alarm moved from Salisbury Fire Department Headquarters on S. Division Street to the basement of the Wicomico County Courthouse. The original one room (8’ X 14’) dispatch center, located inside the Fire Marshal’s office, consisted of one tabletop dispatch console to dispatch fire trucks and ambulances. In 1977 an Emergency Medical Services console, to allow ambulance crews to talk with the "accident room" at Peninsula General Hospital was installed. A year later Peninsula General hospital was designated as the Lower Eastern Shore Regional Trauma Center. This increased the office's workload, with ambulances carrying severely injured patients from other Maryland counties as well as Delaware and Virginia using the EMS console to consult with the trauma doctors while in route to the hospital.

As the workload and responsibilities grew, in 1980 Central Alarm expanded from a tabletop console to a two bay radio console and installed a Dictaphone logging recorder to record all emergency telephone and radio traffic. The County Government also moved the department from the direction of the Fire Marshal to the supervision of the Emergency Management/Civil Defense Director. Leadership changed again in 1983 when "Central" became its own County department with its own director and operating budget.  During the early 1980’s the Civil Defense Office was renamed Emergency Management.  With this change in name also came changes in the way emergency planning was being coordinated.  Issues changed from radiological and weather related emergencies to a more all hazard approach.   

In 1984, in anticipation of 9-1-1, the County expanded Central into another office suite in the basement of the courthouse allowing for two dispatch positions and the EMS console. In early 1985 additional personnel began to be added to handle the duties of fire and ambulance dispatcher, and 9-1-1 call taker.

As call load, the number of staff, and responsibilities grew so did the need for additional space. The county began construction of a Public Safety Complex on Naylor Mill Rd., northwest of the city Salisbury. On February 14, 1990 Central began functioning from the new facility, and within two hours had its first multi-alarm structure fire, at the Willards Lions Club, well involved.

Between 1996 and 1997 all Operators in Central underwent training in Emergency Medical Dispatch. The nationally accredited Medical Priority Dispatch program, headed by Dr. Jeff Clawson, who did the training. This put Wicomico County, and the other nine Lower Shore counties, as forerunners in Emergency Medical Dispatch in the state of Maryland. Other training includes all operators hired after July 1, 1997 to be certified as Maryland Emergency Communications Specialist. This is a 40-hour emergency telecommunicator entrance-level (ETC) certification class sponsored by the State Emergency Numbers Systems Board.  All Operators maintain either EMT-B or First Aid certifications. 

In July 1997, as a part of government consolidation, with the retirement of the County’s long time Emergency Management director, the offices of Emergency Management and Central were combined to form Department of Emergency Services consisting of a Communications Division, Radio Division, and Emergency Management Division.  The Emergency Management component expanded it responsibilities from just working with and on plans to responding to and assisting the fire service with coordination efforts on large incidents.    

In November of 1999 the department moved into a new facility, located in the Wicomico County Department of Corrections Administrative Wing.  A state-of-the-art dispatch center containing three computerized Motorola "Centracom Gold" dispatch consoles and new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) consoles from H.T.E. was part of the new facility. The CAD consoles not only allow the operators to reference cross streets, but will actually show an on-screen map of the location of the call.  In 1999 a new county 800 MHz Analog three (3) site simulcast radio system was designed, built, and staged.  The new radio system went on line with 583 subscribers in 2000.  Those operating on the radio system included fire and EMS organizations, law enforcement agencies and other governmental components 

(Additional Information Forthcoming)

After the events of September 11, 2001, the entire scope of Emergency Management changed and a lot more responsibility was placed on the division. A greater focus was placed on response efforts and more on scene coordination efforts started to evolve.  During the time period from 2000 to 2005 the number of subscribers operating on the county radio system rose to approximately 1,400.

In 2006 the Emergency Services Department put a mobile command unit in operation to support the first responder organizations in the county.  With state of the art equipment the mobile command unit provides the necessary on scene command and control to effectively manage operations.  A portable radio system tower trailer was purchased in 2007 to provide emergency back-up radio system operations during equipment failures.  In 2007 there were almost 2,500 subscribers operating on the radio system.       

Today the workload of the Emergency Management Division has become very multifaceted with planning, responses, educating citizens in emergency preparedness, and working with all the response personnel to include law, fire, health, pubic works to protect the citizens of Wicomico County and surrounding area.  In 2008 planning will begin for a new county 700 MHz digital county radio system and county mobile data system.       

As the population, and the demands, of the citizens of Wicomico County continue to grow the Department of Emergency Services continues to expand to meet the needs of the citizens of Wicomico County.