Chester County, Penn., is the latest municipality to implement Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP), a technology designed to automate communication between alarm monitoring central stations and public safety dispatch/911 centers.

Electronic data transmission results in the following benefits for residents and first responders:

• Fewer phone calls to emergency response centers. Alarm center data is passed to public safety dispatch/911 operators electronically within seconds and then provided to first responders upon dispatch.
• Quicker processing times. Data doesn’t have to be input manually or communicated verbally, resulting in reduced hold times, less chance of human error and faster responses.
• Greater accuracy of information transmitted. Electronic transmission of data reduces chances for errors.

“Every second counts in an emergency,” said John Haynes, deputy director for 911 in Chester County, Penn. “With ASAP, we’ll be able to reduce call‐processing times to provide faster and more accurate emergency response to Chester County citizens.”

Chester County receives approximately 23,000 emergency calls at its dispatch center monthly. On average, 1,400 of these calls come from central stations. With ASAP delivering alarm notification information directly from central stations to public safety answering points (PSAPs) via computer rather than by phone, the county expects alarm response times to drop to 90 seconds or less. These benefits will extend across Chester County police, fire and emergency medical services, according to Haynes.

More than 3,600 Vector Security customers in Chester County will benefit from improved emergency response times via ASAP. Vector Security assisted Chester County by helping to perform extensive testing prior to the system going live. “I cannot thank the Vector Security staff enough for their assistance and leadership on this project,” Haynes added.

“We are constantly working to provide a safer environment for the public,” said Anita Ostrowski, vice president of central station services, Vector Security. “We’ve come a long way since being the first alarm company to introduce ASAP in Richmond, Va., in 2012, and we are glad to see the technology make its way into more communities across the nation.” 

ASAP was formed in partnership between The Monitoring Association and the Association of Public Safety, with Vector Security President and CEO Pamela J. Petrow co‐chairing the committee. Chester County joins Bucks County and Monroeville as the third agency in the state of Pennsylvania to employ ASAP. Nationwide, nearly 50 agencies have implemented, or are in the process of implementing ASAP. 

For a current list: https://tma.us/asap/.