Barnstable Sheriff Preps For New Regional Emergency Communications Center

News release from Barnstable County Sheriff.

The Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office is pursuing expansion and relocation plans for the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Regional Emergency Communications Center (RECC).

The Sheriff’s Office has operated a regional communications center on Joint Base Cape Cod since 2007. Currently, our telecommunicators answer 911 calls for more than half of the fire departments on Cape Cod. They provide medical dispatch for four area hospitals and coordinate the mutual aid system used during large-scale emergencies.

Although expanding regional dispatch has been discussed for years, recent escalations in operational costs and staffing challenges have made the benefits of a shared service model far more attractive than ever before.

Equally clear, however, is that communities contemplating transitioning to a regional model want to fully understand and be comfortable with the cost of the service. They also need to be sure we are prepared for their call volume. Consequently, Sheriff Buckley has prioritized feasibility plans for a new facility.

“It is my goal to expand our existing capacity by enlarging the dispatch center, so we can accommodate as many new departments as possible,” Buckley said.

Buckley created two new staff positions to help focus on this effort. The long-time Deputy Chief of Communications Tom Ashe has been promoted to Chief of Emergency Communications. David Zack was hired in January as Director of Emergency Communications. Zack will focus on tactical operation procedures, staff development, and training at the RECC. Zack was the South Shore Hospital’s Emergency Medical Dispatch Center supervisor and a front-line dispatcher.

Buckley hired Jack Flynn as Special Assistant to the Sheriff. He and Ashe will lead our effort to right-size the RECC. As both the former General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer for the Massachusetts State Police, as well as the former Acting Executive Director for the State 911 Commission, Flynn has extensive experience in public safety operations, state finance, and strategic and capital planning. Flynn and Ashe are currently evaluating and assessing the space we will need to maintain the exceptional level of service we provide our current stakeholders while providing expansion opportunities for new customers.

As a means of analyzing the programmatic and financial feasibility of the various expansion options that we are looking at, Flynn and Ashe have assembled a multi-agency working group consisting of the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance’s (DCAMM) Planning, Legal and Leasing sections, the Executive Director of the State-911 Department, and our own Communication Center experts. The working group meets every other Friday and is committed to finding the most efficient and responsive program option that will allow for expanded service in the shortest amount of time.