560 CMR. STATEWIDE EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD
2.06: Continued
(2) Training. Communication personnel shall be trained and have thehighest level of experience possible within available resources. Trainingshould include, but is not limited to, the 9-1-1 Call Handling Proceduresset forth in the Public Safety Answering Point Administration and TrainingSections of the Massachusetts 9-1-1 Standards, 560 CMR 2.06(1). (a) Pre-Cutover1. The telephone company shall provide upon approval of the board, initialon site training prior to cutover on all Enhanced 9-1-1 equipment and systemsinstalled by the company for all levels of PSAP personnel directly involvedin the operation of Enhanced 9-1-1 equipment and functions. Every effortwill be made to accommodate all personnel on all shifts. 2. Areas of trainingshall include as a minimum a. Enhanced 9-1-1 System and its functions b. BasicCall Handling Procedures; c. Consistent Call Answering Procedures d. Roleof Off-Premises Equipment; e. Operation of Enhanced 9-1-1 Equipment; f. BasicEquipment Malfunctions and Failures; g. Emergency Trouble Reporting andService Call Procedures; h. System Features of Certain PSAPs; I. Operationof TDD Equipment, Call Detectors and Call Diverters; j. Operation and DataRelated to Automatic Call Distributors; and/or Call Sequences and CallManagement Systems; k. Alternate and Default Routing; l. Emergency ContingencyPlans (b) Post-Cutover. The telephone company shall assist PSAPs with thedevelopment of a Train-the-Trainer concept at regional training sessionson an on going basis as determined by the Board. The purpose of this programwill be for municipalities to ensure continued training after cutover onall components of the 9-1-1 System as outlined above in the Pre-Cutoversection.
(3) Call Handling Procedures. (a) General Information 1. When answeringa 9-1-1 call at a primary PSAP, the call taker shall not identify the PSAPas a particular agency, ie. police department or fire department, etc.,but must identify the name of the community or regional center followedby a generic announcement such as “9-1-1, What is Your Emergency?”or “9-1-1 Emergency, Do You Need police, Fire, or Medical?” 2. Eachprimary PSAP shall have the ability to transfer 9-1-1 calls to a secondaryPSAP, limited secondary PSAP or ringing PSAP, relay information to a publicsafety agency, or, as appropriate, directly dispatch public safety services.3. Public Safety Communications Personnel must always verify with the 9-1-1caller, the ALI data and determine the exact location at which the callerneeds emergency personnel dispatched. The need for assistance may not necessarilybe at the location of the 9-1-1 caller. 4. No caller shall be procedurallyrequired to speak with more than two call takers –the primary PSAP calltaker and the remote agency call taker. Local procedures shall be developedto advise a calling party that the call is about to be transferred andto remain on the line. 5. Should a 9-1-1 call be inadvertently transferredfrom a primary PSAP to the wrong agency, that agency will gather the necessaryinformation and relay the information to the proper agency. 6. A publicsafety agency or private agency that receives a request for emergency serviceoutside of its jurisdiction shall promptly forward the request to the publicsafety answering point or public safety agency responsible for that geographicalarea. 7. Any emergency unit dispatched to a location outside its jurisdictionin response to such a request shall render service to the requesting partyuntil relieved by the public safety agency responsible for that geographicalarea.
(4) Special Circumstances. (a) TDD Call Handling. Each PSAP and SecondaryPSAP shall establish procedures to handle calls from speech and hearingimpaired individuals via TDD/TT including the use of TDD call detectorsand diverters where installed. Primary PSAPs and Secondary PSAPs shalltest TDD/TT equipment regularly and in compliance with the ADA. (b) Unansweredor Silent 9-1-1 Calls. All levels of PSAPs shall call back any unansweredor silent 9-1-1 calls by obtaining the telephone number from the ANI displayor printer. Municipalities are required to develop call handling proceduresand urged to dispatch a public safety response unit(s) if the PSAP receivesno response to the call back. (c) Operator Assisted Emergency Call. Alltelephone company operators shall transfer Operator dialed emergency callsto the 9-1-1 trunks in the correct Primary PSAP territory. The ANI shalldisplay a code identifying an operator assisted call to the PSAP. The telephoneoperator shall also announce to the PSAP an operator assisted call andprovide the ANI. (d) No Record Found Assistance. The telephone companyshall provide a manual or electronic ALI record look up service that canbe accessed by PSAP personnel seven days a week, 24-hours per day whena 9-1-1 call is received with no ALI record found. Upon accessing the telephonecompany’s no record found assistance, the PSAP shall retain documentationregarding the 9-1-1 call received.