E-Comm is the first point of contact for 9-1-1 callers in 25 regional districts in British Columbia. It handles over 1.8 million 9-1-1 calls a year. That amounts to 99 percent of B.C.’s 9-1-1 call volume.
E-Comm 9-1-1 emerged from the chaos in coordinating first responders during the 1994 Stanley Cup Riots in Vancouver, as a multi-municipality agency which provides emergency communications operations for the province. The company coordinates 9-1-1 service for police, fire, and ambulance service, providing call-taking and dispatch services for multiple agencies in the Lower Mainland area.
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E-Comm 9-1-1 Communications Coordinators, Kelly Furey, Dolly Loi and Kathryn Moncuris said the service had grown steadily since its start in 1995. E-Comm's service area covers Metro Vancouver (from Lions Bay to Langley), the Sunshine Coast Regional District, south Squamish-Lillooet Regional District the Whistler-Howe Sound and Fraser Valley Regional District area serving residents in the province. The company provides call-taking for all participating municipalities, transferring incoming calls to the appropriate agency. Furthermore, E-Comm provides dispatch services for 18 police and fire departments.
E-Comm owns and operates the Wide-Area Radio Network (WARN), a shared communications system used by police agencies, fire departments and the entire British Columbia Ambulance Service in Metro Vancouver.The WARN features earthquake-resistant infrastructure and enhanced security measures, providing improved coverage, clarity, and reliability.The WARN allows for real-time communication between members of separate agencies, increasing inter-agency communication and coordination.
E-Comm is located in Vancouver at 3301 East Pender Street, across from the Pacific National Exhibition. The E-Comm building is a post-disaster facility, designed to resist a major earthquake or other large-scale disaster, permitting the continued operation of emergency communications in such a situation.
Special attention was paid to the facility's mechanical, electrical, structural and communication systems to ensure they are highly reliable, fault tolerant and resistant to hazard. The building is a reinforced concrete structure with shatterproof glass, and has storage capacity for emergency food and water.
The City of Vancouver's Office of Emergency Management and Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), Vancouver Emergency Community Telecommunications Organization (VECTOR), and Vancouver Emergency Social Services (ESS) are also located inside the E-Comm building.