The Cariboo Regional District is changing where 911 calls are being answered next year.
In a release sent out to media on Wednesday, Jan. 22 the CRD announced 911 calls from the Cariboo Chilcotin will be answered by Fraser-Fort George 911 as of 2026. Joining the CRD in this new dispatch system will be other northern regional districts including the District of Fraser-Fort George, the District of Bulkley-Nechako and the District of Kitimat-Stikine. This new service will take all four regional districts' emergency calls and issue them to the appropriate police, fire and ambulance dispatch centres.
“Fraser-Fort George 911 will provide our partner regional districts with a more autonomous 9-1-1 call answer service that can respond to the needs of northern communities and residents,” said Lara Beckett, chair of the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George.
Since 2014 all four regional districts have had a contract with the Vancouver-based Emergency Communications for BC Inc to answer their 911 calls. Not only does this new system return 911 call answering service to northern B.C., but will also save the taxpayers money according to Margo Wagner, chair of the CRD.
“As our 911 call answer costs continued to increase, we needed to identify a more financially sustainable option for our residents,” Wagner said.
In 2024 a total of 104,476 911 calls were made in the regional districts, 23,013 of which originated from the Cariboo region with 47,671 from the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, 19,591 in the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine and 14,201 in the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako.
When Fraser-Fort George 911 takes over the call answer service in 2026, the release said calls will still be transferred to the same dispatch centres that serve the northern regional districts. This includes the RCMP Operational Communications Centre in Prince George, the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George’s Fire Operations Communications Centre in Prince George and the BC Ambulance Service based out of Vancouver, Victoria and Kamloops.