The City of Nanaimo and the Regional District of Nanaimo are transitioning fire dispatch services from Nanaimo FireComm to the City of Surrey.
Nanaimo FireComm is operated by the City of Nanaimo and the decision to transition to a new service provider was made due to the technology upgrades that would be required for the Next Generation 911 platform and rising operational costs.
The move is estimated to save $3.5 million in avoided technology upgrades and operating expenses over a five-year period.
After exploring alternative service providers, the city and the RDN accepted a proposal from Surrey based on their ability to deliver full dispatch services, capacity to handle increases in service demand during major incidents, post-disaster facilities and a competitive cost structure.
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The Central Island 911 partnership was established in 1994 and provides a 911 Public Safety Answering Point service administered through an agreement with ECOMM and a fire dispatch service currently administered by the City of Nanaimo through Nanaimo FireComm.
“We are pleased to maintain our long-established Central Island 911 partnership with the City of Nanaimo,” said Tyler Brown, RDN chair. “Together, we are continuing to provide a resilient and effective 911 service to our communities.”
The City of Surrey currently provides fire dispatch services to 41 agencies across British Columbia, handling over 80,000 calls annually.
— NEWS Staff, submitted