PSAP Rules

5507-1-02 Scope.
These operational standards apply to all public safety answering points (PSAP) eligible to receive disbursements through section 128.55 of the Revised Code.

5507-1-03 Definitions.
(A) Public safety answering point (PSAP), as defined in section 128.01 of the Revised Code, means a facility to which 9-1-1 calls for a specific territory are initially routed for response and where personnel respond to specific requests for emergency service by directly dispatching the appropriate emergency service provider, relaying a message to the appropriate provider, or transferring the call to the appropriate provider. For purposes of this chapter, PSAP's are divided into two types, primary PSAP and secondary PSAP.

(1) Primary PSAP: an abbreviation for a public safety answering point that operates on a twenty-four hour basis; and whose primary function is to receive incoming wireless and wireline 9-1-1 request for emergency assistance and relay those requests to an appropriate responding public safety responder or agency.

(2) Secondary PSAP: an abbreviation for a public safety answering point that operates as a dispatch center for a public safety agency and receives rollover and/or transferred wireless, and direct or rollover and/or transferred wireline 9-1-1 requests.

(B) Telecommunicator: anyone who answers 9-1-1 service requests for public assistance at both a primary or secondary PSAP.

5507-1-04 Periodic review.
The office of the 9-1-1 administrator, in partnership with the local 9-1-1 coordinators and PSAP managers, shall periodically review these standards and make recommendations for addition, deletion, and/or revision of these standards to the state ESINet steering committee.

5507-1-05 Minimum staffing.
A minimum of two telecommunicators must be on duty and available to receive and process calls at all times. For 9-1-1 systems with automatic rollover to a secondary PSAP, the secondary PSAP fulfills this obligation.

The PSAP shall ensure employment of a sufficient number of telecommunicators to allow for prompt receipt and processing of emergency calls in accordance with established call answering standards.

The PSAP may participate in a virtual PSAP system where calls are automatically routed to one of multiple facilities within the system.

5507-1-06 Prioritization.
The PSAP shall provide standard operating procedures that ensure telecommunicators prioritize emergency functions over non-emergency functions. Although each PSAP will have a variety of duties applicable to their specific local call responsibilities, all local operating procedures will list answering and processing 9-1-1 emergency calls as the top priority.

5507-1-07 Minimum training standards.
(A) The state ESINet steering committee shall oversee the development, implementation and revision of minimum training standards for telecommunicators in the state of Ohio and ensure they are kept up to date with industry standards. Resources to consult with include the national emergency number association, the association of public safety communication officials, the United States department of transportation and other industry resources.

(B) The office of the 9-1-1 administrator will establish a process for certifying that telecommunicators meet the minimum training requirements contained in this rule.

(C) Any person who answers 9-1-1 requests for service shall be trained to the minimum training standards within six months of employment and before handling such requests without direct oversight.

(D) The components of the minimum training program required are listed in this paragraph. Agencies can utilize a commercially available program that contains these components, or develop a local training program that contains the required instructional components. Training will consist of a minimum of forty hours of instruction.

(1) Component 1 - general knowledge

(a) Knowledge and awareness of population and demographics

(b) Knowledge and awareness of geography

(c) Knowledge and awareness of first responder agencies and their jurisdictions

(d) Knowledge and awareness of the incident command system (ICS), national incident management system (NIMS), federal, state and local interoperable communication plans and federal, state and local emergency operations plans

(2) Component 2 - general skills

(a) Ability to quickly process information and make logical decisions

(b) Stress management

(c) Provide good customer service

(d) Multi-task in a fast-paced environment

(e) Work effectively with others to solve problems

(f) Appropriate use of agency terminology

(g) Communicate clearly in written and oral form, especially when relaying emergency information to first responders or communicating with the public requesting emergency assistance

(h) Ability to operate and/or respond to emergency alerts

5507-1-08 Continuing training standards.
(A) The state ESINet steering committee shall oversee the development, implementation and revision of continuing training standards for telecommunicators in the state of Ohio and ensure they are kept up to date with industry standards. Resources to consult will include the national emergency number association, the association of public safety communications officials, the United States department of transportation and other industry sources.

(B) The office of the 9-1-1 administrator will establish a process to certify that telecommunicators meet the continuing training requirements established by the committee.

(C) Any person working in a PSAP and receiving 9-1-1 requests for service shall be required to meet the continuing training standards as follows:

Annually, before the first day of February of each calendar year, the office of the 9-1-1 administrator will distribute subject matter of timely, industry standard educational information. The distribution will be in the form of an instructional video, curriculum package or train-the-trainer package to all county 9-1-1 coordinators. The training will constitute a two-hour training block to be completed by all 9-1-1 telecommunicators subject to this chapter.

5507-1-09 Emergency medical dispatching.(A) The PSAP is required to provide emergency dispatching either:

(1) By establishing an emergency medical dispatching protocol, that provides pre-arrival instruction, through a recognized training provider that meets the standards as set forth by the United States department of transportation, and includes certified emergency medical dispatchers; or

(2) By establishing a local emergency medical dispatching protocol approved by the local medical authority, that provides pre-arrival instruction and includes specifically trained emergency medical dispatchers; or

(3) By agreement with a third party emergency medical dispatch provider that can be conferenced on with the caller during an emergency.

(B) If the PSAP does not provide emergency medical services dispatching, the PSAP may meet this requirement by having an agreement in place to transfer the call to a center that provides emergency medial dispatching in compliance with paragraph (A)(1) or paragraph (A)(2) of this rule.

(C) Any person who answers 9-1-1 requests for service shall be trained in the agency's emergency medical dispatching protocol before handling such requests without direct oversight.

5507-1-10 Emergency power.(A) The PSAP shall have a minimum one alternate/emergency power supply capable of supporting (maintaining) 9-1-1 call handling/processing equipment and necessary related public safety (communications) services for a minimum of twenty-four hours.

(B) An uninterrupted power supply (UPS) and battery system shall be installed and sufficient enough to prevent power surges and provide continuous power to essential 9-1-1 equipment until the generator or other backup power source can fully activate.

5507-1-11 Security.
(A) 9-1-1 personnel and equipment shall be housed in a secure location with appropriate measures taken to allow access to authorized personnel only.

(B) A facility housing a 9-1-1 answering point shall have an emergency operation plan (EOP), evacuation plan and a continuity of operation plan (COOP) that includes the 9-1-1 operation and staff.

5507-1-12 Minimum capability.

(A) A 9-1-1 answering point shall have multiple methods of notification to response agencies.

(B) A 9-1-1 answering point shall have a minimum of two 9-1-1 "lines" and two 9-1-1 answering devices in addition to a minimum of one "line" available for outbound dialing only.

5507-1-13 Temporary PSAP.
The temporary PSAP is a PSAP that has been established to provide 9-1-1 service for a defined geographic area for a limited time/duration under the following circumstances:

(A) A planned special event with a defined duration (example: convention, sporting event, state/county/local fair).

(B) An unplanned situation requiring a temporary relocation of an existing PSAP.

(C) Any natural or man-made disaster or public safety critical incident or special operation requiring localized incident management/command post operation where establishing a temporary PSAP would benefit citizens and/or public safety responders.

When a temporary PSAP is established for an unplanned event/emergency, mandated standards shall become best practices applicable to the temporary PSAP for the duration of the emergency.

5507-1-14 Call processing software.
The PSAP will provide telecommunicators with software, including mapping, to assist in initiating calls for service, dispatching, and maintaining the status of responding resources in the field and the archiving of incident information.

5507-1-15 Logging/recording.
(A) The PSAP will have the capability of logging/recording 9-1-1 requests for service including voice, data, video and other media used.

(B) The PSAP will retain recordings in accordance with state law and local records retention requirements.

(C) The PSAP will provide telecommunicators the capability to instantly play back recent 9-1-1 requests.

5507-1-16 Graphical information systems.
(A) PSAP's should utilize map data that meets or exceeds the Ohio location based response system data specification for road center lines and addressable structures.

(B) Graphical information systems should, at a minimum, include road center lines, emergency service zone and/or responding entity polygons, and PSAP boundary polygons.

(C) The PSAP shall have the ability to automatically accept, display and plot caller location data on an electronic map display. Any application that allows the PSAP to automatically accept, display and plot caller location data on an electronic map display is acceptable.

5507-1-17 Statistical analysis.
The PSAP will collect, analyze and report the following statistics:

(A) Total 9-1-1 call volume.

(B) 9-1-1 calls by hour of the day.

(C) 9-1-1 calls by day of week.

(D) 9-1-1 call ring/answer times.

(E) 9-1-1 call roll over counts.

(F) 9-1-1 abandoned call counts.

(G) 9-1-1 calls by type (wireline/wireless/VoIP/etc.).

(H) All other data a required by the ESINet Steering Committee or the state 9-1-1 administrator.

The PSAP will compile and review this data monthly and report it to their local 9-1-1 coordinator. The 9-1-1 coordinator will be responsible for reporting this data on an annual basis to the office of the state 9-1-1 administrator, due no later than the fifteenth day of February each year or at other times upon request of the office of the 9-1-1 administrator.

5507-1-18 Minimum call answering standards.
Ninety per cent of 9-1-1 calls/requests received will be answered within ten seconds; with ninety-five per cent of 9-1-1 calls/requests received being answered within twenty seconds.

5507-1-19 Rules enforcement.
(A) When a PSAP is found out of compliance with any rule contained in this chapter, the office of the 9-1-1 administrator will make contact and offer assistance in complying with the rule and establishing a date of compliance.

(B) When a PSAP is found not to meet the established rules by the date of compliance set from the office of the 9-1-1 administrator in paragraph (A) of this rule, the office of the 9-1-1 administrator will notify the ESINet steering committee and request enforcement action be initiated in the following sequence:

(1) When a PSAP does not meet the date of compliance established in paragraph (A) of this rule, the PSAP will then be placed in non-compliance status and have thirty days to comply with the rule. Written notification of how the agency is in compliance will be sent to the office of the 9-1-1 administrator.

(2) When a PSAP does not meet the requirement to meet compliant status outlined in paragraph (B)(1) of this rule, the office of the 9-1-1 administrator will then notify the ESINet steering committee and request authority to notify the department of taxation to withhold all funds from the monthly fund disbursements from the wireless fund until the PSAP achieves compliant status.

(C) For purpose of this chapter, the office of the 9-1-1 administrator has the exclusive authority to audit and review PSAP's for compliance.