Astoria 9-1-1 is operated under the governance of the City of Astoria and dispatches for 3 law enforcement agencies, the Port of Astoria, and 8 fire departments. We are also tasked with afterhours dispatching of 3 public works departments. The dispatch center is staffed by a communications manager and 10 dispatchers. In 2025, Astoria 9-1-1 processed over 12,000 9-1-1 calls and 48,000 non-emergency calls.
All dispatchers are DPSST (Department of Public Safety Standards and Training) certified in both telecommunications and emergency medical dispatch (EMD). To receive these certifications, dispatchers attend a 3-week academy in Salem put on by the state of Oregon followed by a 3-day EMD course. Topics covered during the academy include ethics, communication skills, behavioral health, map reading, criminal law, call handling scenarios, and radio dispatching. Once a basic certification is obtained, dispatchers must complete 17 hours of training each year to keep their certification current. This includes law enforcement dispatch training, emergency medical dispatch training and one hour of ethics training. Dispatchers holding a leadership role, such as the communications manager, operations supervisor or a lead dispatcher must have additional leadership training each year.
