Special Needs
The Onondaga
County 9-1-1 Center is committed to providing equal access
to all residents – and
the segments of the population with special needs.
TTY ACCESS
Do not use the relay services
to contact Onondaga County 9-1-1. Since
systems upgrades in 2002, all call answering positions are TTY
capable. The computerized telephone system automatically
recognizes a TTY call and call takers have received training
in handling of TTY calls. After your TTY has been recognized
by the system type that you need, FIRE, POLICE or EMERGENCY MEDICAL
ASSISTANCE. Please attempt to answer any questions the call taker
may have. Remember that the call takers have been trained
to provide you with helpful instructions prior to the arrival
of emergency services so do not hang up until the call taker instructs you to do so.
Contact Aurora locally for answers and to arrange
visits or meetings with 9-1-1 staff. We work closely with Aurora and write a periodic column for the Siracusa News Letter.
The Department of Emergency Communications has made a significant effort to ensure that all segments of the community have access to the County's emergency communications system. To address the needs of the non English speaking community we have contracted with Language Line. Language Line provides interpreters for over 140 languages. When a call is received in a language other than English a button is pushed and within seconds there is a three-way connection between the caller, calltaker, and a language line general interpreter. The general interpreter identifies the language then connects the call to an interpreter who is fluent in the language of the caller. The interpreter translates between the parties.
During 2010 the Language Line service was used on 607 occasions for a total of 3,968 minutes. The following is a summary Language Line usage during 2010:
Language
|
# of Calls |
Length of Calls in Minutes |
Albanian
|
1 |
2 |
Amharic
|
1 |
7 |
Arabic
|
42 |
282 |
Bengali
|
1 |
9 |
Bosnian
|
6 |
68 |
Burmese
|
24 |
151 |
Cambodian
|
1 |
10 |
Dinka
|
1 |
5 |
Farsi
|
1 |
6 |
French
|
4 |
22 |
Greek
|
1 |
7 |
Hindi
|
6 |
39 |
Italian
|
4 |
33 |
Japanese
|
1 |
2 |
Karen
|
12 |
88 |
Korean
|
2 |
6 |
Laotian
|
1 |
7 |
Maay
|
1 |
5 |
Mandarin
|
10 |
79 |
Nepali
|
8 |
43 |
Polish
|
1 |
9 |
Portuguese
|
1 |
6 |
Russian
|
5 |
45 |
Somali
|
31 |
221 |
Spanish
|
404 |
2,504 |
Swahili
|
13 |
105 |
Thai
|
3 |
21 |
Tigrinya
|
6 |
60 |
Turkish
|
1 |
10 |
Ukrainian
|
3 |
11 |
Vietnamese
|
11 |
70 |
TOTAL
|
607 |
3,968 |
|
