The technology inside
How bitdispatcher works, one technology at a time
Each article explains a technology a 911 centre depends on: what it is, the standard behind it, where dispatch systems usually fall short, how bitdispatcher does it, and how far that has been tested.
Dispatch
The console, the command line and the decisions on the floor
Command line and keys
A keyboard-first console: one-line commands, duty-specific key profiles, and a PremierOne-style classic layout.
Read the articleDISPATCH · 02Units by road time
Recommend the right units by capability and real driving time, counting who is on scene and what runs short.
Read the articleDISPATCH · 03Multiple monitors
A screen per monitor, found with the Window Management API, selection synced, and layouts remembered per position.
Read the articleDISPATCH · 04Many agencies, one floor
A consolidated center dispatches for many agencies, each with its own numbering, units and board, enforced on the server.
Read the articleDISPATCH · 05Messages and BOLOs
An inbox inside CAD with four prioritized tones, acknowledgement, escalation, hashed and virus-scanned attachments, and versions.
Read the articleDISPATCH · 06Search and unit recall
One search across incidents, BOLOs, people, vehicles, attachments and units, with match reasons, partial plates, and a unit recall timeline.
Read the articleCalls
Where the caller is, what they said, and what the map shows
NG9-1-1 and EIDO
How calls reach the CAD over an ESInet with i3 location and EIDO, and move on to the field and to neighbours.
Read the articleCALLS · 08Caller location
ALI/ANI, wireless Phase I and II, device-based hybrid fixes, HELD, altitude and trails for moving callers.
Read the articleCALLS · 09Transcripts and translation
Transcribe the call live, pull out the facts by rule, and translate Spanish callers line by line with a built-in phrasebook.
Read the articleCALLS · 10Crash data and drones
Rate crash severity from telematics by delta-V and rollover, flag electric vehicles, and launch a drone by rule or a press.
Read the articleCALLS · 11Offline map
OpenStreetMap, routing and county GIS recorded into the binary, so the map still works with no internet.
Read the articleCALLS · 12Aerial imagery
Orthophotos, EagleView obliques, Panoramax and Mapillary street photos, and crews' own pre-plan photos.
Read the articleField
Crews, stations and the public
Mobile data terminal
A browser terminal for crews: assignment, route, premises, one-tap statuses, GPS, an emergency button, and acknowledged messages.
Read the articleFIELD · 14Staffing and qualifications
Who is on duty and on each unit, sign-on and relief without gaps, double-assignment blocked, and live capability from the crew aboard.
Read the articleFIELD · 15Station alerting and paging
Tone out the firehouse and page volunteers by text, email, push and webhook, with responders answering from a link.
Read the articleFIELD · 16Public alerts (CAP, IPAWS)
Write a public warning once and send it as CAP 1.2 to IPAWS, sirens, alert software and subscribers in English and Spanish.
Read the articleFIELD · 17Public incident feed
Share open incidents with a website or apps like PulsePoint using hundred-block addresses and coarse points, never callers or notes.
Read the articleRecords
Reports, inquiries and the record afterwards
NIBRS reporting
Incident reports with the FBI's NIBRS data elements checked, supervisor approval, and Virginia's monthly IBR file in one click.
Read the articleRECORDS · 19NERIS and NEMSIS
Fire incidents to NERIS on close, and NEMSIS 3.5 patient-care times from every EMS unit to the agency's ePCR system.
Read the articleRECORDS · 20NCIC
Wanted-person, vehicle, gun and article inquiries through the state message switch, each with a purpose and reason in the ledger.
Read the articleRECORDS · 21Records requests
FOIA requests for 911 data: redactions proposed by the agency's rules, accepted one by one, released only on approval.
Read the articlePlatform
What keeps it running, honest and changeable
Event ledger
An append-only, SHA-256 hash-chained record of every action, so the day cannot be quietly rewritten.
Read the articlePLATFORM · 23Security
How a CAD is secured: duty-based access, enrolled workstations, one-time codes, a hash-chained audit ledger and scanned attachments.
Read the articlePLATFORM · 24Active-active sites
Several sites all live at once, each holding a verified copy of the others' ledgers, each able to keep dispatching alone through an outage.
Read the articlePLATFORM · 25Scripts and advisories
Sandboxed agency scripts in JavaScript and Lua, and an advisory panel of deterministic rules from a versioned codebook, tested first.
Read the articlePLATFORM · 26Training and staged changes
A scored training board on the agency's own map, instructor-led exercises, and config changes tried on a training board before publishing.
Read the articlePLATFORM · 27Responder wellbeing
Critical calls put everyone who worked them on the supervisor's care list for a break and a debrief, with workload and quality on the board.
Read the articlePLATFORM · 28Migration
Bring premises, address history and run cards from CSV exports, and run alongside the old CAD until the floor is ready.
Read the article