History of Hillside Dispatch

The Hillside Police and Fire/EMS dispatch is one of the earliest dispatch centers in the area and Proviso Township dating back to the 1950’s. Over the years our team of dispatchers has grown as we have taken on more towns. We moved into our new dispatch center when we took on Police and Fire/EMS dispatching for the Village of Westchester in November of 2020.  More recently we have taken on dispatching for Berkeley’s Fire/EMS dept on October 30,2021. Our Dispatch center currently has four working stations with a future 5th station all equipped with the latest technology for 911. Our dispatchers are certified in EMD and regularly receive continuing education. According to the 2020 US Census, we service a population of 8,320 Hillside residents, 16,892 Westchester residents, and 5,338 Berkeley residents along with all vehicle traffic on a portion of Eisenhower I-290 expressway.

General History of 911

The three-digit telephone number "9-1-1" has been designated as the "Universal Emergency Number," for citizens throughout the United States to request emergency assistance. It is intended as a nationwide telephone number and gives the public fast and easy access to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP).

In November 1967, the FCC met with the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) to find a means of establishing a universal emergency number that could be implemented quickly. In 1968, AT&T announced that it would establish the digits 9-1-1 (nine-one-one) as the emergency code throughout the United States.

The code 9-1-1 was chosen because it best fit the needs of all parties involved. First, and most important, it met public requirements because it is brief, easily remembered, and can be dialed quickly. Second, because it is a unique number, never having been authorized as an office code, area code, or service code, it best met the long-range numbering plans and switching configurations of the telephone industry.