FCSO Establishes Agency’s First Tele-Communicator Emergency Response Team

Bunnell, FL - The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) establishes a new Tele-Communicator Emergency Response Team (TERT), which is the first of its kind in the agency. The program will allow public safety tele-communicators to offer mutual-aid to other communications centers during times of a natural or man-made disaster. This will address problems commonly faced during such a time, including staffing shortages.  The selected members of the new FCSO TERT are Joseph Esposito, who has been with the agency since 2008, Megan Burton, a Communications Training Officer and Tina Eddy, another Communications Training Officer. All three members will be required to successfully complete multiple FEMA courses and stay current with the Association of Public-Safety Officials (APCO) and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) standards. “We have had an Emergency Response Team (E.R.T.) within the law enforcement division and a Corrections Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.) for the detention division for years, but this is the first time we have established a response team of tele-communicators,” Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly said. “Our 9-1-1 center is one of the few centers in the state that is accredited and the men and women in our Communications Center do a fantastic job." TERT is a task force created by APCO and NENA after learning about the critical demand for additional tele-communicators following a natural disaster. You can read more about the program by clicking here.