Section 725.505  Public Safety Answering Point

 

a)         All 9-1-1 call answering equipment used by a PSAP  must be compatible with the telecommunications carrier's central office equipment and trunking arrangements.

 

b)         Each PSAP, after consultation with the telecommunications carrier, shall designate an area of adequate size to be used by the telecommunications carrier for termination of the company's lines and equipment.

 

c)         Premises equipment for each 9-1-1 circuit will indicate incoming calls by both audible and visible signals.  Each outgoing circuit shall have a visual display of its status.

 

d)         Each 9-1-1 answering position shall have access to all incoming 9-1-1 lines and outgoing circuits peculiar to its zone of responsibility.

 

e)         Call transfer equipment shall be designed to achieve transfers with at least 99.9% completion.  (This may require the use of dedicated direct trunking toward the responding agency.)  When the telecommunicator verifies that the transfer has been completed and the telecommunicator's services are no longer required, the telecommunicator may manually release himself/herself from the call, provided that the telephone equipment is so designed.  A 9-1-1 system should be designed so that a call will never be transferred more than once.

 

f)          Each answering position shall have direct access to an operational teletypewriter (TTY), and all PSAP telecommunicators shall be trained in its use at least every six months.  9-1-1 system management will ensure that TTY equipment is available to continue service in the event of emergency, malfunction, or power failure.

 

g)         Each PSAP shall have at least one overflow answering position to handle those circumstances when the call volume exceeds the capability of the primary telecommunicator position.  This position must have the capability of being answered by a trained PSAP telecommunicator and be capable of receiving the Enhanced 9-1-1 features if it is a participant in an Enhanced 9-1-1 system.  Supervisory positions may be utilized to satisfy this requirement only if the position will be answered by emergency trained personnel.  Overflow calls shall be routed to a backup PSAP except as provided for in subsection (i).

 

h)         System management shall provide continuous and uninterrupted operation to the persons within the system's boundaries 24 hours per day.

 

i)          Backup PSAP

 

1)         Each 9-1-1 system shall have a backup PSAP.  A backup PSAP shall meet the same standards as the primary PSAP except as provided for in subsections (i)(2) and (3).  Furthermore, 9-1-1 systems that were issued authorization to operate prior to December 1, 2004 and that still do not currently maintain a back-up PSAP must comply with this Section by December 1, 2006.

 

2)         In a 9-1-1 system with less than 15,000 billable access lines, where the system has demonstrated that the requirements of subsections (g) and (h)  would place an undue financial burden upon the system, a full feature backup PSAP does not have to be maintained.  For those systems, the backup PSAP requirement may be met by one of the following:

 

A)        An unattended PSAP shall have:

 

i)          the capability to provide 9-1-1 service;

 

ii)         the communication equipment necessary to dispatch emergency services;

 

iii)         a backup power supply;

 

iv)        the ability to communicate via TTY; and

 

v)         the capability to be immediately activated with authorized personnel.

 

B)        Call Box devices only if:

 

i)          the 9-1-1 system has five or fewer telecommunications carrier central offices;

 

ii)         system management has provided the communication equipment necessary to dispatch emergency services; and

 

iii)         they can be immediately activated with authorized personnel.

 

3)         9-1-1 systems with fewer than 15,000 billable access lines that have two or more PSAPs shall meet the standards as outlined in subsections (g), (h), and (i).  9-1-1 systems operating under this exemption should, as funds become available, upgrade their backup PSAP capability to meet those standards as specified in subsections (g), (h), and (i).  When a 9-1-1 system starting with fewer than 15,000 billable access lines increases its billable access lines to 15,000 for a period of 1 year, it shall upgrade to meet the standards as specified in subsections (g), (h), and (i).

 

j)          PSAP telecommunicators shall be trained in emergency dispatch procedures as specified by 9-1-1 system management to fulfill the responsibilities of their position with the following requirements:

 

1)         Newly hired telecommunicators must receive, at a minimum, a 40-hour training curriculum approved by 9-1-1 system management prior to 9-1-1 call handling.

 

2)         If emergency medical dispatch is being provided that involves the dispatch of any fire department or emergency medical service agency, additional training must be completed in accordance to the Emergency Medical Services (EMT) Systems Act [210 ILCS 50] and 77 Ill. Adm. Code 515.

 

3)         Continuing education for existing telecommunicators is required and will be specified by 9-1-1 system management.

 

k)         System management shall provide for the installation of a master logging recorder of adequate capacity to record both sides of a conversation of each incoming 9-1-1 call and any radio transmissions relating to the 9-1-1 call and its disposition.  These recordings shall have the time of each event noted.  System management may elect to record on a circuit-by-circuit basis or by way of the telecommunicator's position.

 

l)          System management shall ensure that each PSAP maintains an archive of the storage media for a minimum of 30 days without recirculation of any media.

 

m)        In order for a 9-1-1 plan to be approved, the facility selected for the primary PSAP, backup PSAP, and, where instituted, a secondary PSAP, must be equipped with an emergency back-up power source capable of supplying electrical power to serve the basic power requirements of the PSAP, without interruption, for a minimum of four hours.  The back-up power source shall be tested for reliability on a monthly basis.

 

n)         Where sophisticated telephone equipment or customer premise equipment is implemented and which is not tolerant of power fluctuations or interruptions, and is vital to the PSAP's operation, an uninterruptible power source shall be installed at all PSAP locations.

 

o)         In some instances, the system management may desire to have route diversity for its telephone circuits.  The telecommunications carrier serving the PSAP shall be responsible for providing the necessary information regarding the availability and cost of this service.

 

p)         Each PSAP shall have at least one non-published telephone number to be provided to telecommunications carrier operators, adjoining PSAPs and agencies to advise the PSAP of emergency messages.

 

q)         System management shall adopt practices to ensure the following:

 

1)         When call box operation is necessary, authorized personnel shall respond to the call boxes who are trained in the operation of call box procedures;

 

2)         In instances where a call box is situated in split telecommunications carrier exchanges (an exchange shared with more than one 9-1-1 system or jurisdiction), procedures shall be developed by the 9-1-1 systems involved to respond to the call box in instances of outages or disasters;

 

3)         That when a primary point of contact is notified by telecommunications carrier personnel that an outage has occurred in a 9-1-1 system, the PSAP being notified must make notification to other PSAPs in the 9-1-1 system that is affected by the outage; and

 

4)         That default routing requirements will be coordinated with the 9-1-1 system provider, telecommunications carriers, and 9-1-1 system management.

 

r)          System management shall have the obligation of continual review using recognized administrative, engineering and database security procedures to determine and assure adequate service to the general public in accordance with the Act and this Part.

 

s)         PSAP employees shall be instructed to be efficient and courteous in the handling of all calls and to comply with the provisions of all applicable federal and State laws in maintaining secrecy of communications.

 

t)          Each PSAP shall insure that all 9-1-1 emergency calls are answered and handled without preference to the location of the caller.

 

u)         It shall be the joint responsibility of the 9-1-1 system and the telecomunications carrier to ensure that the error ratio of each 9-1-1 system's database shall not, at any time, exceed 1%.

 

v)         Each PSAP should answer 90 percent of all 9-1-1 calls within 10 seconds.

 

w)        All calls of an administrative or non-emergency nature shall be referred to the appropriate agency's published telephone number.  After the referral is made, the telecommunicator shall release the circuit for public use.

 

x)         A current copy of this Part shall be on file in every PSAP.

 

y)         Call through testing is required prior to going on-line.

 

1)         A formal written test plan shall be provided to the Commission's 9-1-1 Program as well as an attachment to the final plan submitted to the Commission for the system's authorization to operate.  The test plan will explain how 9-1-1 system management plans to perform its testing set forth in subsection (y)(2). 

 

2)         System management shall ensure that call through and field testing has been performed on a minimum of 40% of all access lines in the 9-1-1 service area, including each NXX for every participating telecommunications carrier and for every ESN within each telecommunications carrier’s service area prior to the 9-1-1 system being able to announce its availability to the public.                                     

z)         Ongoing testing after the 9-1-1 system is on-line shall include the following:

 

1)         9-1-1 system management shall conduct testing with all telecommunications carriers, including, but not limited to, the 9-1-1 database, network trunking, system overflow, system backup, default routing, call transfer and call boxes on a continuing basis to ensure system integrity.  The testing shall be coordinated in advance by 9-1-1 system management, 9-1-1 service providers, and the participating telecommunications carriers.

 

2)         9-1-1 system management shall participate in coordinated testing with the participating telecommunications carriers when any of the following occur:

 

A)        New central office switching installations;

 

B)        E9-1-1 selective router installations, upgrades or rehomes;

 

C)        NPA additions;

 

D)        When a central office switch is made LNP capable;

 

E)         Number pooling; and

 

F)         Any other event that affects 9-1-1.

 

3)         Upon request, after notification of implementation, 9-1-1 system management shall participate in coordinated testing with the private residential or business switch operators.

 

4)         9-1-1 system management shall forward all error reports within two business days after finding the error to the 9-1-1 system provider.

 

5)         9-1-1 system management shall attempt to retest and/or validate that all errors have been corrected (e.g., no record found, misroutes).

 

6)         The 9-1-1 system provider shall correct the error within two business days after receipt of an error report from 9-1-1 system management.

 

7)         If the error affects multiple carriers and 9-1-1 systems, then the correction shall take place within two to four business days after receipt of an error from 9-1-1 system management.

 

8)         9-1-1 system management shall on a continuing basis maintain the MSAG, the ELT for each ESN, and the associated telephone numbers for the ELTs.

 

(Source:  Amended at 28 Ill. Reg. 15742, effective December 1, 2004)