Under Enhanced 9-1-1, who answers my 9-1-1 calls and how are emergency responders dispatched?
The primary responsibility of Maine’s 26 Public Safety Answering Points, known as PSAPs, are to answer all 9-1-1 calls in their local coverage area. Each Maine community is matched with a PSAP. Most of the time, the PSAP handles both the call answering and dispatch of the 9-1-1 call. 9-1-1 calls not dispatched by the PSAP are transferred to the appropriate agency. The Enhanced 9-1-1 system has sophisticated automatic transfer capabilities and Bureau Rules require the PSAP to initiate the transfer within 10 seconds.
