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By SUBSCRIBE CHOOSE ARTICLE CURRENT ISSUE CEO Update Focused on the future together Service Perseverance through a challenging year for emergency communications People Using the right supports to build a resilient team Innovation Innovating emergency communications for a safer British Columbia Relationships Help Us Help: Protecting our province’s emergency resources Expansion Strengthening public safety across British Columbia PAST ISSUES E-Comm INSIDER Issue No. 1 | Spring 2022 ARTICLES CEO Update Focused on the future together READ ARTICLE Service Perseverance through a challenging year for emergency communications READ ARTICLE People Using the right supports to build a resilient team READ ARTICLE Innovation Innovating emergency communications for a safer British Columbia READ ARTICLE Relationships Help Us Help: Protecting our province’s emergency resources READ ARTICLE Expansion Strengthening public safety across British Columbia READ ARTICLE CEO UPDATE A lot has happened at a global level since the final edition of e-communiqué , E-Comm’s previous external newsletter, was published almost three years ago. At that time, we announced E-Comm’s strategic plan, (a)SPIRE 2025 , focused on resiliency and innovation. It was intentionally created to be flexible so our organisation could adapt its priorities based on the changing landscapes directly impacting the field of public safety, like those we have experienced over the past few years. Together, British Columbia’s emergency services community has navigated a multi-year global pandemic, new pressures on policing in our communities caused by changing social dynamics and huge strain on emergency health and rescue services resulting from extreme weather events. There is no denying that it has been a trying time for our organisation, as well as for our first responder partners and the public who rely on emergency services to be available when they need them. Last year, E-Comm received more than 2 million calls from British Columbians needing emergency assistance from police, fire or ambulance—the highest call volume we have seen in our almost 23 year history. These volumes reflect both the increasing demand on emergency services across B.C. and of the changing complexity of the emergencies being responded to. E-Comm’s mission is to deliver exceptional emergency communications to both the public and to first responders. There were times in 2021 where our 9-1-1 call-answer and police call-taking services did not live up to these high standards—particularly in the Lower Mainland where we continue to suffer from staffing and funding shortages. The work of our staff is critical to the safety of British Columbians and our first responder partners. And this work cannot stop while we determine the longer term path forward through these service level and resourcing challenges. Instead, our dedicated team of emergency communications professionals must remain focused on getting B.C.’s public the help they need in the short term from police, fire and ambulance, while leadership focuses on the broader business transformation required to stabilize the organisation. At the same time, E-Comm’s board and leadership team acknowledge a need to evolve our operations to meet the increased demands being placed on our organisation. This work is well underway, and extensive reviews of our service delivery model and police communications operations have been conducted. Investments are being made to increase the capacity of our emergency communications centres, both through recruitment of new staff and by finding new ways to answer calls from the public to get them the help they need. Our commitment is to provide the best possible service to the communities we serve, and together, we will continue to work with our partner agencies to ensure we achieve this commitment. This new bi-annual E-Comm Insider newsletter will serve as one of the many ways we keep you apprised of these strategic activities headed into the future. I look forward to keeping you informed and providing further updates in the issues to come. Oliver Grüter-Andrew, President & CEO SERVICE Perseverance through a challenging year for emergency communications Forest fires, floods, excessive heat and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 resulted in unusually and historically high 9-1-1 call volumes in B.C. Through unprecedented demand and service level challenges, E-Comm staff remained on the frontlines of emergency communications around the clock—connecting British Columbians with the police, fire or ambulance services they need in an emergency. A call taker at E-Comm’s Lower Mainland emergency communications centre answering emergency calls for help from members of the public. E-Comm’s service level target is to answer 95 per cent of 9-1-1 calls in five seconds or less . For 22 years, E-Comm maintained and exceeded this target. However, as call volumes rose dramatically over the summer with the excessive heat and continued into the fall with record flooding and delays in transferring calls to the ambulance service, E-Comm’s 9-1-1 service levels fell below target for the first time in the organization’s history. Exceptional strain on emergency services with an increasing demand like I have never before witnessed, coupled with our own short staffing and resourcing challenges, led to service delivery challenges in the second part of 2021,” explains Stephen Thatcher, E-Comm vice-president of Operations. Not only did this have a huge impact on our staff, but it also heavily impacts our partner agencies as well. Recognizing this, these are challenges that we continue to work closely with our partners to resolve.” In terms of 9-1-1 call volume, Thatcher says 2021 was an extraordinarily challenging year with nine out of the 10 busiest days in E-Comm’s history occurring last year. During the heat dome that blanketed B.C. in July, 9-1-1 call volumes soared to 8,000 calls on some days, almost doubling the 5,000 daily call average seen in 2020. As British Columbia continues to experience ongoing health crises and another unusually warm summer is forecasted, this increased need for emergency response is not expected to lessen. With call volumes in 2022 already higher than in previous years, it is imperative we recognize the need to change the way we provide services to our partners, and to the public. This means we need to find new ways to help the public understand who to call when they need help, we need to provide more self-service access to members of the public willing to use online tools, and we need to increase our efficiency to better the experience of the public who are helped over the phone,” says Thatcher. E-Comm is using the lessons learned over the past year to improve recruitment and training of 9-1-1 call-taking and dispatch staff. This is in addition to the innovative uses of technology and public education to help reduce wait times moving forward, particularly on police non-emergency lines where wait times can be longer as call takers prioritize answering emergency calls from those in life or death situations. Summing up the 2021 experience, Thatcher praises the resilience of British Columbia’s emergency responders during a very challenging year: Together, we continued to deliver critical emergency response services to those who needed us. During the worst of the pressures experienced last year, we did everything possible to ensure British Columbians got the help they needed and looking ahead to what will likely be another challenging summer, this teamwork and cooperation among agencies coupled with our passion for public safety is what will continue to save lives.” Stephen Thatcher, E-Comm vice-president of Operations PEOPLE Using the Right Supports to Build a Resilient Team The unique demands of working in emergency services have been exacerbated over the past few years. E-Comm’s dedicated team of emergency communications professionals take extreme pride in being...