911 Central Dispatch

Central Dispatch is charged with the following primary tasks:

• Answer all 911 and non-emergency calls within St. Joseph County and provide direction or instruction to those callers.
• Dispatch a total of 22 police, fire and ambulance services.
• Provide an after-hours answering point for the Human Services Agency and all county Department of Public works

Fourteen extensively trained full-time and 2 authorized part-time personnel staff the center 24 hours, 365 days a year, providing service to our county’s 61,295 residents in an area of 512 square miles. The center also houses the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), used in the event of a large casualty or extended duration event; the EOC is also used by various agencies and groups for meetings and training.

Text to 911

St. Joseph County Central Dispatch is capable of receiving Text to 911 calls from cell phones. In cases where people cannot speak, or it is not safe to speak, they may text directly to 911 if they have an emergency. 911 dispatcher will text directly back to them and determine what and where their emergency is and send help.

NIXLE Notification System

NIXLE is a mass notification system that alerts citizens on various emergencies such as long term Road Closures, Severe weather alerts, Boil Water warnings etc. Anyone can subscribe to this free service by texting their Zip Code to 888777. After you subscribe, you will receive a confirmation text. This program is used by the County Emergency Services and Central Dispatch to notify large groups quickly.

Smart911

Smart911 is a FREE service anyone can subscribe to and is especially helpful for the eldery and small children in case of emergencies.

1. Go to www.Smart911.com and click on "sign up today"
2. Complete your profile. This profile will appear to the 911 dispatcher when they call 911. This information can be very helpful in emergencies when people are under a great deal of stress. Enter all family members names, descriptions, age, medical problems, pets, any vehicles you may own.

Medical Support Information

• Life Support Medical Release Form (PDF)

We are striving to develop a database of County residents who require specialized life support services. By completing this form and forwarding it to Central Dispatch, this information can help us prioritize welfare checks in the event of a County emergency.

St. Joseph County Michigan E-911 Central Dispatch strives to provide the best emergency services possible. We recognize that there are some residents of St. Joseph County that require special medical needs. Some of the special needs can be hampered in severe weather conditions rather it be from power outages, or icy roads. It is our goal to make sure that in those conditions that every effort is made to assist in that difficult time. Therefore, the St. Joseph County E-911 Central Dispatch Center is offering to maintain a database of those residents of St. Joseph County. Due to the Health Information Privacy Act (HIPPA) we are not permitted to obtain your special medical needs without your permission.

This form is intended to allow the release of your personal medical information to allow the St. Joseph County E-911 Central Dispatch Center to obtain this vital information and create a database for the sole purpose of assisting those with special medical needs during critical times. By signing this document, your are consenting for any agency having such valuable information to release such personal information to the St. Joseph County Michigan E-911 Central Dispatch Center for the sole purpose mentioned.

More questions?

If you have other questions about Central Dispatch or would like to arrange for a group tour, please contact the center at (269) 467-4195.

Department Contacts

Dennis Brandenburg, Director (269) 467-4195

Stacey L. Bower, Supervisor/Telecommunicator (269) 467-4195

Kristin Carpenter, Supervisor/Telecommunicator (269) 467-4195

Ryan Fillmore, Supervisor/Telecommunicator (269) 467-4195