The Douglas Regional 911 Communication's Center provides dispatch services for Law Enforcement, Fire and EMS (paramedics). Our staff is trained and prepared to handle emergencies that are called into the Center everyday.  Our Center dispatches for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, in addition to 11 Fire Agencies and 4 Law Enforcement Agencies that are located in both Douglas and Elbert County. These additional agencies contract with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office for their Dispatch services. They are as follows:

United Fire Dispatch Authority, which consists of Castle Rock, Franktown, Jackson 105, and Larkspur Fire Departments, and the Elbert County Communication's Authority consisting of Elizibeth, Elbert, Rattlesnake, Big Sandy/Simla, Kiowa, North Central and Agate Fire Departments and under the same authority 4 Law Enforcement agencies: Elbert County Sheriff's Office, Kiowa, Simla and Elizabeth Police Departments.

Public safety dispatching for Law, Fire and EMS has become a very technical position. Dispatchers are required to be cross trained and proficient with a number of computer systems and programs to include:

• 911 phones
• Radio and telephone logging systems
• Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD)
• Emergency Medical Dispatching
• CCIC/NCIC
• 700/800mhz radios, Colorado Statewide Digital Trunked Radio (DTR) System
• First-In alerting
• Pictometry
• Everbridge Emergency Mass Notification System  ( Notification system using 911 data base to contact citizens in case of an emergency)

The Communications Center received approximately 397,619 phone calls requesting service in 2010. More than 68,623 of those were 9-1-1 calls. There were 5,342 Fire/EMS calls dispatched and 122,200 Law Enforcement calls for service.

Our Dispatch Center and its staff have received numerous awards both locally and nationally. Douglas Regional Communication's Center was the “Colorado Dispatch Center of the Year” in 2002 for their handling of the Hayman Fire. In that same year one of our supervisors was named Colorado APCO Supervisor of the Year.  We also have on our staff the Colorado APCO Dispatcher of the Year for 2003 and 2006. We have also received national recognition from APCO International’s Project Locate as a Model Community for leadership in being one of the first Centers in Colorado and the United States to implement Phase II wireless.

Our staff is trained and certified in a nationally recognized Emergency Medical Dispatch system, Hazardous Materials, Incident Command, CCIC/NCIC, and a number of other specialized areas.   Many members of our staff volunteer on the County’s Incident Management Team and are prepared to respond to major incidents in Douglas County.

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a dispatcher, click here to be forwarded to the employment page.