Regional Emergency Call Center Partners with MePush to Implement Significant Tech and Surveillance Upgrades

By Lisa Z. Leighton

When a call is placed to 911 in Snyder, Union or northern Northumberland Counties, the end user doesn’t think about the behind-the-scenes infrastructure needed to quickly and accurately route the call to the appropriate responding agency.

For nearly two years, the dedicated teams at MePush and NRG Controls North have collaborated with the new regional emergency call center, Central Susquehanna Regional 911 (CSR911), to overhaul network, server, security and surveillance infrastructure.

“The merge between Snyder and Union 911 has taken years of planning.” remarked Cheryl Stiefel, Executive Director, CSR911.  “MePush and NRG Controls North have worked with us every step of the way by providing expert opinion and labor from design to implementation.”

The primary goal of the project was to update their existing server network after the merger of the two agencies, leading to more efficient routing and quicker response times for those placing a call to the 911 network.

The upgrades included four new servers in a high availability cluster (HAC), a 10 Gbps network backbone for server connectivity and data storage, and a new computer aided dispatch (CAD) vendor. Of particular note is the HAC, which is a group of hosts that act like a single system, providing continuous uptime – critical for an emergency response agency.

MePush handled the planning and installation of the new wiring, servers, and network infrastructure for the upgraded system.

Their partner in the project, NRG Controls North, managed the security needs including exterior and interior surveillance cameras as well as an access control system that includes RFID tags on all doors.

The upgraded system will have a tremendous impact on callers to the 911 system, as well as first responders who rely on timely communication when responding to an emergency.