Accomplishments

Emergency Communications Center Improvements: In 2022, Denco completed uninterruptible power supply system upgrades, providing emergency communications centers with double the available backup power and eliminating a potential single point of power failure. The Motorola radio project at Denco’s backup facility was completed, providing full radio functionality throughout the Denton County public safety radio system. The addition of radio dispatch capability allows for a smoother transition to the Denco Annex if a center needs to evacuate its primary facility or partially relocate operations there for any reason. During Fiscal Year 2022, Denco assisted the City of Denton Emergency Communications Center with a large-scale relocation and expansion.

Indoor Mapping Project: Denco continued progress on its indoor mapping project, completing floorplans for dozens of school and government buildings and finalizing their entry into the 9-1-1 database. By providing access to floor plan data, emergency dispatchers can view a detailed location graphic when a wireless 9-1-1 call is made inside a structure. This capability allows dispatchers to provide emergency responders more precise data on the location from where a 9-1-1 call was made, sometimes down to the exact room in the building. Dispatchers can also view building entrances and exits, and by using other Denco-provided tools, they can note important supplemental data, such as parking lots and surrounding streets. During the fiscal year, over 50 buildings were scanned and converted to indoor mapping. Denco has begun the project’s next phase, focused on hotels and apartment buildings. Other businesses with complex floorplans will follow. For its role in the project, Denco’s GIS department was presented the Technology Innovation Award, by Government Technology magazine. The award recognizes special districts that have used technology to improve service delivery for citizens.

PulsePoint AED Registration Project: Denco established the PulsePoint automated external defibrillator (AED) Registry project, which will provide 9-1-1 dispatchers with enhanced data on AED locations. The project is designed to improve cardiac emergency survival rates, which, according to the American Heart Association, double when bystanders use a publicly available AED. In coordination with the public and public safety agencies in the district, Denco is working to register AEDs through the free PulsePoint application. Residents in the district can report an AED to the database, including its location and a picture. During a cardiac emergency 9-1-1 call, the dispatcher can use Denco-provided software to access the AED data and find the device nearest to the scene, aiding in the medical response. Denco will expand outreach efforts for the project in Fiscal Year 2023.

 

Training and Testing: Denco’s 9-1-1 testing and training programs are seeing more activity as the industry recovers from COVID-19. In Fiscal Year 2022, contract instructors resumed travel, specialized training courses returned to the schedule and new mental health courses were added. Denco conducted 110 courses with a total of 17,379 training contact hours, up from 105 courses and 13,270 contact hours in Fiscal Year 2021. In the Basic Telecommunicator Licensing Course alone, Denco trained 89 individual students from across Texas. Many of those students were from agencies outside the district, reflecting the training program’s reputation for high quality. Denco successfully completed the annual assessment by the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies. CALEA accreditation is recognized across the nation for its high industry standards, and “provides objective evidence of an agency’s commitment to excellence in leadership, resource management, and service delivery,” according to the commission.

Public Education and Outreach: Denco’s public education program continued to rebound after COVID-19 reduced event opportunities. During Fiscal Year 2022, the district provided 9-1-1 educational material to dozens of events and presented to area Chambers of Commerce and service clubs to raise awareness about the indoor mapping project. At the Denton ISD New Employee event, Denco staff distributed information to hundreds of incoming employees, and Denco interacted with hundreds of children at The Colony Back-2-School bash. Outreach included advertising and visibility campaigns through digital and physical mediums. With an established flow of content, Denco’s official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts remained a priority, and are positioned for growth in Fiscal Year 2023.

Next Generation 9-1-1 Grant: During Fiscal Year 2022, Denco was awarded $4,000,000 from the Texas Next Generation 9-1-1 Fund, which will contribute to the reliable operation of next generation 9-1-1 service through December 31, 2024. The grant supports NG9-1-1 core services, GIS data development and maintenance, 9-1-1 systems maintenance and cybersecurity.

Network Enhancement: In Fiscal Year 2022, Denco made significant progress toward final implementation of the software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) platform, which increases stability by establishing multiple layers of connectivity in the network. New network circuits and upgraded routers were deployed to each emergency communications center in the district to support the SD-WAN upgrade heading into Fiscal Year 2023.