The Communications Center

The Waterville Communications Center ("Comm Center") is located at 1 Common Street in Waterville just beneath City Hall. The Police Department is also located here. The Comm Center is responsible for all emergency and non-emergency calls in the City of Waterville, whether they come via telephone or directly to the Comm Center from walk-in traffic. The Comm Center is operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are a regional communications center. This means that we answer calls and are responsible for directly dispatching the appropriate responders for several communities in central Maine. There are also several non-emergency lines and four dedicated emergency lines (for E-911 transfers) that run into the Comm Center. Below, you will find in more detail some of the things that Comm Center is responsible for:

E-911

Effective October 10, 2007, the Waterville Communications Center is no longer answering E-911 calls. This is as a result of the PSAP consolidation laws that recently went into effect. Starting on October 10, 2007 if you dial 911 from Waterville, Oakland, Winslow, or Clinton, your call will be answered by the Central Maine Regional Communications Center or the Somerset County Communications Center. If your emergency is located in one of the towns that the Comm Center dispatches for, your call will be transferred to a dedicated phone line at the Comm Center, where information will be obtained the appropriate responders will be dispatched.

A couple of things to keep in mind when using 911:

The E-911 system also functions as a TTY telephone. When dialing 911 from a TTY phone, pressing a TTY key several times after the call is answered can assist the call-taker in determining that the incoming call is from a TTY machine.

E-911 can and should only be used to report police, fire, and medical emergencies (when life and/or property are in danger). The Comm Center has the ability to dispatch all necessary responders for any type of emergency. You should not call 911 to inquire about phone numbers or when you are just seeking information.

In addition to answering all E-911 calls for the three towns, the Comm Center also answers the non-emergency phone calls for the Waterville Police Department. This includes fielding inquiries for police and accident reports, and taking reports, such as accidents, criminal mischief, loud noise, animal control issues, etc.
In addition to answering for Waterville, we also answer the non-emergency lines for the Oakland Police Department from 5:00 PM to 8:00 AM Monday - Friday and all day and night on weekends and holidays. The Comm Center also answers non-emergency calls for the Winslow Police Department from 4:00 PM to 8:00 AM Monday - Friday and all day and night on weekends and holidays. Effective, Monday, August 5, 2007, the Comm Center began answering non-emergency phones 24 hours a day / 7 days a week for the Town of Clinton as well.

The Comm Center will dispatch the Waterville, Winslow, Clinton, and Oakland Fire Departments for various types of fire emergencies, including structure fires, vehicle fires, chimney fires, brush fires, smoke investigations, and odor investigations. The majority of these calls are received via the E-911 system.

In addition to dispatching the Waterville Fire Department for emergencies reported via telephone, the Comm Center also monitors all of the City's "call boxes," which are the pull stations seen in many public buildings. When the station is activated (either by hand or smoke/sprinkler alarm), the Comm Center will receive an alarm with a number indicating which call box is currently in alarm. Each number corresponds to an address, and the Fire Department is subsequently dispatched as appropriate.

In early 2008, the Comm Center began dispatching for several local fire departments. In addition to Waterville, Winslow, Oakland, and Clinton Fire, the Comm Center also dispatches Belgrade, Rome, Sidney, China, and Albion Fire.

EMS Dispatching

For medical emergencies, the Comm Center will dispatch Delta Ambulance directly, 24 hours a day. Delta Ambulance recently began staffing their dispatch center 24 hours a day. Waterville Communications Center still serves as a backup dispatching service for Delta in the event of an emergency.

While Delta Ambulance is responding to an emergency call, the Comm Center will also dispatch each town's rescue service: Waterville Rescue, Winslow Rescue, and Oakland Rescue, Belgrade Rescue, Rome Rescue, Sidney Rescue, Albion Rescue, and China Rescue. These agencies are part of the town's Fire Departments and act as first responders while the transporting ambulance service in en-route to a call.

During those hours when Delta's dispatch is not staffed, the Comm Center will answer their non-emergency and business lines and take action as necessary for the nature of the call. The Comm Center will dispatch Delta to Waterville, Oakland, Winslow, Fairfield, Benton, and parts of Belgrade, Rome, Sidney, South China, China Village, Palermo, Albion, Shawmut, and Freedom, although EMS calls outside of Waterville, Oakland, and Winslow, Clinton, Albion, Belgrade, Rome, and Sidney, are not answered directly by the Comm Center.

In addition to dispatching Delta Ambulance, the Comm Center will dispatch Clinton Rescue for medical emergencies in the Town of Clinton. Clinton Rescue is a transporting ambulance service, and also serves as Delta's back up in the event that Delta is unable to respond to a call.

In early 2008, the Comm Center began dispatching for several local fire departments. In addition to all previous dispatching duties, the Comm Center will dispatch Albion Rescue, Belgrade Rescue, Rome Rescue, China Rescue, and Sidney Rescue to all medical calls in these communities.