Everett Computer Aided Dispatch Crashes Again

computer aided dispatch

A new emergency dispatch system is still having issues one year after going live.

For five hours Sunday afternoon dispatchers handling emergency response for both Everett Fire and Police had to go to manual operations after problems with the computer aided dispatch system. The crash occurred about 2:15 PM and service was restored and police and fire crews were able to log on around 7:30 PM. Here’s what Everett Police heard over their radios on Sunday…

For Everett Police that meant that they couldn’t get much information on their computers and were unable to easily run license plates or access details on their calls. They also had to get temporary case numbers until the system could return to operation.

For the Everett Fire Department the issue was even bigger as they had to establish their Fire Operations Center in station 1 and self dispatch units after receiving information from the 9-1-1 center at SnoPac. Here’s a bit of what that sounded like for them…

There was some confusion as things got underway as this call to a seizure at Costco shows. First SnoPac pages Engine 4 while the FOC pages Engine 7 then Medic 6 self dispatches to the call while Medic 1 is told to disregard.

Also in that last clip you heard SnoPac say that they were in the process of bringing the computer aided dispatch system (known as CAD) back up. Unfortunately that didn’t work out right away…

Apparently other fire departments across Snohomish County also had to open their Fire Operations Centers and self dispatch until the system was repaired after about a five hour down time. No word yet on what caused the outage but we’ll do our best to find out and pass the answer along.

Earlier this year Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson wrote a letter to the vendor of the dispatch system expressing his displeasure. Tyler Technologies responded and even came out to Everett the first week of August and personally met with the Mayor and outlined steps to make sure the computer aided dispatch system worked to the city’s satisfaction.

MyEverettNews.com also met with Bryan Proctor, Chief Operating Officer of the Public Safety Division of Tyler Technologies in August. Tyler bought New World Systems last fall and Proctor had been with New World for 10 years prior to the acquisition by Tyler. In addition, Bret Dixon President of the Justice Group division of Tyler and others sat down with us and talked about their commitment to SnoPac and making sure this system worked for the long term. Now that the system has been active for a year and yesterday had a five-hour problem, it will be interesting to hear how satisfied all sides are and what the plans are moving forward. We’ll let you know what we find out.


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My Everett News is a hyperlocal news website featuring news and events in Everett, Washington. We also cover City of Everett information and items of interest to those who live and work in Everett.

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