On November 21, 1987 a special election was held in Calcasieu Parish to authorize the levying and collection of an emergency telephone service charge therein for the implementation and operation of the E911 telephone service in accordance with RS 33:9106b. Voters approved of this surcharge by 79%
Before the E911 system could go on-line a major task must first be accomplished. All route addresses within the parish would require assigned numerical addresses and streets needed to be named to aid in the identification of residences, therefore reducing emergency response time.
Two days after the election, the planning department for the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury began the enormous task of ensuring the entire parish was numerically addressed.
In 1989 the Calcasieu Parish Enhanced 911 system went online.
The District is housed in a former AT&T building. The building was originally built in 1957 for the use of the AT&T (formerly BellSouth) telephone network. It underwent a 3-million dollar renovation in 2000 to bring it to its current use as a PSAP.
The building is 3 stories tall, approximately 18,000 square feet and is rated to withstand a Category-5 hurricane. Four agencies are housed inside: Calcasieu Parish E911, Lake Charles Police Communications, Lake Charles Fire Communications and offices of the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The District has evolved into a centralized dispatch center to accelerate the communications process and expedite emergency response.
The District hosts a regional Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and telephone network. Currently four agencies utilize the shared CAD (911, Lake Charles Police, Lake Charles Fire and Sulphur PD) and two agencies are on the phone network (911 and Cameron 911). The agency uses the Intrado/Positron VIPER system. It is NG911 capable and has redundant phone servers; one server located at the main facility and the second at the backup site. The Communications District also records communication for the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office, serves as the Regional backup, and captures recordings for Mutual Aid channels.
Calcasieu Parish Communications District is budgeted for a staff of 30, with 25 of those designated as Telecommunicators. The District answers all incoming 911 calls for the parish and dispatches 13 Fire Departments, 1 Marshal’s Office, the Office of Homeland Security /Emergency Preparedness and is also the point of notification for LEPC (Local Emergency Planning Committee) and Crimestoppers, as well as the Mutual Aid Headquarters. Law enforcement calls are either relayed or routed and EMS calls are processed by dispatching First Responders, when necessary, and transferring the calls to Acadian Ambulance.
The Communications District has experienced tremendous growth and progress since its inception and continues progressive improvement under the guidance of Executive Directors David Soileau, Robert Martin, and currently Richard McGuire.