CKMS News -2025-11-26- Kitchener Fire Department launches upgrades to 911 services
dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – Following years of development and adhering to a provincial edict, the Kitchener Fire Department has launched the “next generation” of 911 services in the region. The upgrades reflect the changes in the ways people communicate with 911, primarily the uptake of mobile phones and the abandonment of land lines.
Next generation 911 will use Internet Protocol tracking to get a more precise location of the caller and allow for faster communication of details between the caller, the dispatch centre, and fire crews rushing to a scene.
The changes to 911 services have been underway since 2022 when the mandate to upgrade was announced by the federal Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
The government of Ontario has been supporting the transition over the past three years with $208,000,000 in grants across the province since 2022. The Kitchener Fire Department has received $650,000 of those provincial grants while the Waterloo regional police service has been given $3,8000,000.
This show features an interview with Jamal Alam, who has spent the past 3 years as the Program Manager of Fire Systems and Projects with the Kitchener Fire Department. Alam has been with the Kitchener Fire Department for 9 years.
