Automated Notification System Speeds Response Time During Devastating Tornadoes.

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 1999--

In responding to the recent cycle of deadly tornadoes, the Hamilton County Communications Center (HCCC) found The Communicator!(R) interactive notification system from Dialogic Communications Corporation (DCC) to be invaluable in alerting and assembling emergency personnel.

The Communicator is an on-site computer system that places and receives calls for response teams and communities-at-risk automatically. It contacts individuals via phone, pager and cellular; delivers incident-specific information or instruction; and confirms message receipt via touch-tone response. HCCC installed the 8-line system over 2 years ago to automate lengthy urgent response team notifications such as snow emergencies and today maintains 15 scenarios, including Hamilton County's Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR), the Greater Cincinnati HAZMAT Unit (GCHMU) and the Specialized County Arson Task Force (SCAT).

In the early morning hours of Friday, April 9, 1999, severe thunderstorms produced deadly tornadoes that touched down in Sycamore and Symmes townships and the cities of Montgomery, Blue Ash and Loveland. Immediately following a direct hit to one of Montgomery's largest apartment complexes, city officials issued a request for assistance to HCCC. At 5:58 a.m., the communications center's USAR notification scenario was initiated.

After only 25 minutes, alpha pager activations for the 71-person list were completed and 34 team members had responded. Within 71 minutes, The Communicator had run two complete passes through the USAR call list, dialing at least 3 phone numbers per person and delivering vital response information, including directions to the city's established command posts. Inbound calls averaged 64 seconds in length and outbound calls were streamlined to 74 seconds or less.

"Having the notification system in place during the tornadoes greatly enhanced our emergency communications capabilities," said Andrew Knapp, HCCC Communications Supervisor. "It was like having 8 additional personnel."

HCCC, which averages 1800 calls per day, saw their call volume more than double to 4096 in the 24 hours following the tornadoes. Knapp believes that if any single statistic had to justify The Communicator, it is the fact that the system processed 176 inbound, outbound and pager activation calls in less than 2 hours, freeing center personnel to focus on search and rescue efforts.

"Knowing that our software helped Hamilton county residents during this disaster is most rewarding," said Dave Krikac, DCC Vice President of Marketing. "It is tragic that such events are occurring more frequently, but it is good to know that progressive agencies like HCCC are incorporating interactive notification technology into their emergency response plans to guard against loss of human life and damage to property."

HCCC is a public safety communications center governed by the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners. The center is responsible for police, fire and medical communications to 43 municipalities, as well as HAZMAT response for a tri-state area, including Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. To learn more about HCCC, visit their website at www.hamilton-co.org/hccc.

Franklin, Tennessee-based DCC is today's leading provider of interactive notification systems to business, industry and government operations. The Communicator is installed in over 500 mission-critical operations, both nationally and internationally. To learn more about DCC, visit their website at www.dccusa.com.