Fort Worth 911 says answer‑time standards met after consolidation and tech pilots; transcription, translation and AI triage in trials

Aubrey Insco provided the committee an update on progress to improve Fort Worth’s 911 and public‑safety communications, describing organizational consolidation, staffing changes and technology pilots.

Insco said the department consolidated fire and EMS communications at the former MedStar headquarters on Altamir so telecommunicators now operate more closely with police and fire partners. A late‑April/early‑May staffing model change, the presentation said, enabled the department to meet the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) best practice of answering 90% of 911 calls within 15 seconds — a performance Insco said represents roughly a 52% improvement over prior months.

On technology, Insco described a February 2025 pilot with a vendor called PREPARED that provided near‑instant transcription and translation for calls: 1.7 million calls were transcribed and more than 10,000 were translated into languages other than English. The center also trialed video‑to‑911 services and a next‑generation automated virtual assistant called Ava to triage non‑emergency calls; in three live trials Ava handled roughly 26% of the 12,000 non‑emergency calls tested, returning zero wait time to callers and freeing call‑takers for 911 dispatch.

Insco framed the work as part of a broader effort to improve reliability, answer‑time performance and situational awareness while investing in retention, training and quality assurance for communication staff. Committee members asked about pilot funding (CCPD funding was referenced), about making Ava available to district offices and for follow‑up on instances when ambulance availability fell to zero; staff agreed to provide additional frequency data on availability events.

What’s next: presenters said work will continue on technology pilots and staffing refinements, and they will return with additional information and data as requested by the committee.