Located one hour west of Washington, DC, and Dulles International Airport, Frederick County is the northernmost point in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with Winchester as its county seat. Formed in 1743, the county currently has a total area of 415 miles and a population of about 75,000. In 2007, a two-story, 70,000-square-foot (sq-ft) building was designed and built near the Winchester Regional Airport to combine the offices of the Frederick County 911 Call Center, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Department, and the Fire and Rescue headquarters.
Known as the Department of Public Safety Communications, the county’s 911 Call Center is responsible for receiving emergency calls within Frederick County and dispatching fire and rescue and law enforcement units as needed. Public safety is the single most important mission for the entire building. In addition, an 8,000-sq-ft, single-story ancillary building was constructed to house an evidence lab and processing rooms, vehicle forensic and maintenance bays, and law enforcement storage.
Having a reliable backup power system to protect these vital public safety networks was an integral part of the design/build blueprint from day one, according to Gary Ball, project coordinator for general contractor Howard Shockey & Sons, Inc., (Shockey), Winchester, VA. The lives and safety of county citizens in the event of severe weather or a utility power outage was the number one concern.
Working closely with the building designer, AECOM, which has an office in Virginia Beach, VA, Shockey turned to Trumbo Electric, Broadway, VA, for engineering and technical support. John Knepper, Jr., P.E., Trumbo vice president, toured the new buildings with Lee Anna Pyles, director of public safety communications for Frederick County, along with Sheriff Robert Williamson and former director of fire/rescue Gary DuBrueler to determine the emergency load needs for the facility, which were varied and highly sophisticated.
Pyles explained that the heart and soul of the new complex was founded on the provision of emergency services. There was no room for a failed response for any one of these first responders. The county has 14 full-time communications officers with at least two on duty 24/7/365. All EMD-certified, these officers answer 911 and non-emergency phone calls and dispatch the calls for service. “We manage law enforcement and fire/EMS for the county and for the towns of Middletown and Stephens City,” said Pyles. “There are 11 fire stations in Frederick County and over 100 sworn law enforcement officers. Last year, we responded to 272,000 phone calls; 53,448 of those were 911 calls- that’s 147 emergency calls per day.”