REGINA – Rural people in Saskat-chewan will be able to use the 911 emergency phone system within a few years.
The Saskatchewan government said money from video lottery terminals will pay for some of the costs of setting up the system.
Only a few 911 emergency systems, in which people can call a single number for any emergency they face, operate in Saskatchewan today. Outside of the cities, very little of rural Saskatchewan is covered. A pilot project in the Swift Current area is the only large rural 911 system in the province.
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People in most areas now must find separate emergency phone numbers for ambulances, police and firefighters. As well, the 911 system instantly traces incoming calls and allows phone operators to dispatch aid instantly.
Sinclair Harrison, president of the Sask-atchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, said rural people have been calling for a 911 system. He said the closure of dozens of hospitals in rural Saskatchewan makes fast emergency services essential.
“Ambulance services are much more important now,” he said. “The speed at which they travel, where they’re going and how they get there” can mean the difference between life and death for many people.
While the 911 phone number will be operating by the end of 1996, Harrison said it will be much longer before all the different fire departments, police and ambulance systems can be tied together.
The $1.6 million in VLT money will come from the portion of gaming machine profits the provincial government has promised to give to local communities. SaskTel, the provincial phone company, estimates the cost of the technology for the system will be $5.6 million.
