Faster, More Accurate Emergency Dispatch Expected in the City of Westerville and Blendon Township, Ohio

PITTSBURGH, June 9, 2020 – The City of Westerville, Ohio joins a growing number of municipalities across the nation to implement Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP) at its Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP).

ASAP technology automates communication from alarm monitoring central stations to PSAPs and 911 centers, resulting in faster, more accurate emergency response.

Monitored alarm users in Westerville will experience faster, more accurate police, fire and EMS dispatch as a result of the implementation. Fire and EMS dispatches for Blendon Township, Ohio will benefit from ASAP as well.

ASAP was developed in partnership between The Monitoring Association (TMA) and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), with Vector Security President and CEO Pam Petrow co-chairing the committee. Vector Security was the first alarm company to debut ASAP in Richmond, VA in 2012.

Vector Security assisted with implementation by helping to conduct extensive testing prior to the system going live in Westerville.

“As a security provider, Vector Security actively seeks ways to promote ASAP’s value to municipalities and public agencies for the greater good of the industry, as well as for the increased safety of our communities,” said Anita Ostrowski, Central Station Vice President, Vector Security.

She noted that hundreds of customers served out of Vector Security’s Columbus and Mansfield, OH branches will benefit from the ASAP launch.

The use of ASAP results in the following benefits for monitored alarm users and first responders:

• Less phone calls to emergency response centers. Alarm monitoring center data is passed to PSAPs / 911 operators electronically within seconds and then provided to first responders upon dispatch.
• Quicker processing times. Data doesn’t have to be input manually or communicated verbally, resulting in reduced hold times and faster responses.
• Greater accuracy of information transmitted. Electronic transmission of data reduces chances for errors.

With ASAP delivering alarm notification information directly from the alarm monitoring centers to PSAPs via computer rather than by phone, all pertinent data goes directly to first responders and the process takes only about five seconds. Many agencies using ASAP can expect alarm response times to potentially drop to as little as 90 seconds or less.

“The implementation of the ASAP to PSAP protocol within the City of Westerville ECC provides the communications employees with another avenue to more efficiently and expediently dispatch fire and police responders to alarm calls involving both businesses and residences within Westerville,” said Holly Wayt, Westerville Communications Division’s Communications Manager. “We are truly excited about bringing this advancement in service to our community; increasing our ability to assist in saving lives and protecting property by decreasing the amount of time it takes to respond to and subsequently dispatch in progress alarm calls.”

Nationwide, more than 85 agencies have implemented, or are in the process of implementing ASAP. For a current list:  https://tma.us/asap/.

For more information on the benefits and features of ASAP, visit www.vectorsecurity.com/asap.

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