Charleston County Consolidated 9-1-1 Center

What Charleston County Consolidated 9-1-1 Center does

Charleston County Consolidated 9-1-1 Center is a public-sector Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) and county-government department operating within Charleston County, South Carolina, established in 2009 and fully consolidated by November 2013. It provides unified 9-1-1 call taking and computer-aided dispatch (CAD) services for approximately 20 partner law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical agencies across the county, including the Charleston County Sheriff's Office, City of Charleston Police Department, North Charleston PD, Isle of Palms PD, Sullivan's Island PD, Charleston County EMS, and more than a dozen municipal and district fire departments. The technology stack combines CAD, GIS/mapping, and text-to-911 routing with the Smart911 safety-profile system, Fire Pro QA, and Medical Priority Dispatch protocols, supplemented by the 911HelpMe.com online platform for non-emergency requests. The center holds rare accreditations — the 39th stand-alone CALEA accreditation nationally, the first APCO Training Program Certification in South Carolina, and IAED Center of Excellence status for both Fire (24th globally) and Medical (171st globally) dispatch — and coordinates mutual aid with federal partners including the US Coast Guard, National Parks Service, and Joint Base Charleston.

The center operates as a department of Charleston County Government and is funded entirely through public tax revenues and general government budget allocations; it does not charge citizens for emergency services and has no commercial revenue stream. Its go-to-market is institutional: it serves government clients by mandate rather than through sales motions, with community outreach via Charleston County Government social channels, public education programs, and partnerships with educational and federal institutions. The center is led by Director Jim Lake and Interim Director Allyson E. Burrell, with approximately 76 employees. Folly Beach Public Safety notably withdrew from the consolidation and maintains its own standalone dispatch center, illustrating both the voluntary nature of participation and the operational complexity of multi-jurisdictional PSAP models.

Name

Charleston County Consolidated 9-1-1 Center

Legal name

Charleston County Consolidated 9-1-1 Center

Website

https://911.charlestoncounty.org

Company type

Public

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Charleston County Consolidated 9-1-1 Center is a county-government PSAP that provides unified 9-1-1 call taking, text-to-911, and computer-aided dispatch for law enforcement, fire, and EMS agencies across Charleston County, South Carolina, serving approximately 20 partner agencies and funded by public tax revenues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Emergency Communications and Public Safety Dispatch

NAICS

Police Protection (922120), Fire Protection (92216)

SIC

Services-Business Services, Nec (7389)

akta.pro primary industry

Emergency Communications & Dispatch (911/112/999, PSAP) (BPAIAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dispatch, Communications & Medical Control Centers (PSAP/ECC) (HLAFANAK), Fire Alarm Monitoring & Dispatch (BPAKAFAC)

Keywords

• Emergency dispatch services
• Public safety communications
• 9-1-1 call taking
• Emergency medical dispatch
• Text-to-911 services

Headquarters

HQ city

Charleston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Tax Funding: Government-funded emergency communications center funded through Charleston County tax revenues and general government budget allocations

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Charleston County Consolidated 9-1-1 Center is a government-operated consolidated public-safety answering point that provides 24/7 emergency call taking, text-to-911, and dispatch services for law enforcement, fire, and EMS agencies across Charleston County, South Carolina. It supplements emergency voice and text 9-1-1 with the 911HelpMe.com online platform for non-emergency requests, and integrates Smart911 safety profiles to give dispatchers critical subscriber information during emergencies. The center serves as the single point of contact for over 20 public safety agencies within the county.

Product overview

The Charleston County Consolidated 9-1-1 Center operates as a unified emergency communications platform providing consolidated 9-1-1 call taking and dispatch services for law enforcement, fire departments, and EMS agencies across Charleston County. The core offering encompasses voice and text-to-911 emergency response capabilities, supplemented by the 911HelpMe.com online platform for non-emergency requests and Smart911 safety profile integration. The center consolidates dispatch operations for multiple municipal agencies, having completed transition to full consolidation in November 2013.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Consolidated 9-1-1 Call Taking and Dispatch Services 24/7 consolidated emergency 9-1-1 call taking and dispatching services for law enforcement, fire, and EMS agencies across Charleston County, handling both voice 9-1-1 and text-to-911 communications and routing calls to the appropriate first-responder agency.
• Text to 9-1-1 SMS-based text-to-911 service that allows residents and visitors to send emergency messages to 911 when a voice call is not possible, supporting individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, speech-impaired, or in threatening situations where speaking is dangerous.
• 911HelpMe.com Non-Emergency Request Platform Online self-service portal where residents can submit non-emergent requests for police, fire, or EMS response (used when 9-1-1 lines are not overwhelmed and situations do not require immediate emergency dispatch) and check the status of those requests.
• Smart911 Safety Profile System Subscriber safety profile system that lets residents pre-register critical household and medical information with 9-1-1 so the data is automatically displayed to dispatchers when the registered phone contacts 9-1-1, supporting faster and more informed emergency response.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully consolidated emergency dispatch services from multiple jurisdictions into unified center operational since 2009 with full consolidation completed November 2013

Named customers21 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• College of CharlestonsupportingOthersPartnership and shared technology established with College of Charleston for public safety communications coordination with campus security services
• Joint Base CharlestonsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerShared technology and coordination partnership with Joint Base Charleston for integrated emergency communications and mutual aid during emergencies
• Kiawah Island Barrier RescuesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for barrier island rescue operations coordination and emergency response for Kiawah Island
• National Parks ServicesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership and shared technology with National Parks Service for emergency response coordination in federal park lands within Charleston County jurisdiction
• SC Department of Mental HealthsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for mental health crisis response coordination and specialized dispatch protocols for behavioral health emergencies
• United States Coast GuardsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with USCG Sector Charleston for maritime emergency response coordination and water rescue operations
• Smart911coreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership utilizing Smart911 safety profile system that provides dispatchers with critical information about subscribers during emergency calls

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Tyler Technologies: Major provider of software to county and municipal governments, including NewWorld CAD/RMS for public safety dispatch. Comparable as a broad incumbent supplying the CAD and public-safety-software tier that PSAPs like the Center depend on.
• Motorola Solutions: Dominant vendor of CAD, radio, and command-center software to PSAPs and public safety agencies across the U.S. Comparable because the Center relies on this class of technology (CAD, GIS, radio) to operate; Motorola also acquired Rave Mobile Safety, embedding citizen-facing emergency notification similar to Smart911.
• CentralSquare Technologies: Public-sector software vendor providing CAD, RMS, and mobile dispatch solutions to over 7,500 public safety agencies. Direct comparable as the underlying software stack provider for PSAP operations similar to the Center's.

Emerging players

• RapidSOS: Emergency-data platform that links connected devices (phones, vehicles, wearables, smart-home) directly to 9-1-1 dispatchers, providing real-time location and sensor data. Comparable as an emerging player in the citizen-to-PSAP data layer adjacent to Smart911 functionality used by the Center.
• Rave Mobile Safety: Provider of mass-notification and citizen-profile solutions to 9-1-1 centers (now part of Motorola Solutions). Highly comparable to the Smart911 functionality used by the Center for pre-incident citizen data.
• Priority Dispatch Corp. Provider of ProQA and the Fire/Medical Priority Dispatch Systems that underpin IAED-accredited dispatch operations — the same protocols the Center is certified against. Comparable as the protocol/QA software vendor closely tied to IAED accreditation.
• Carbyne: Cloud-native emergency communications platform enabling video, text, and rich-media 9-1-1 calls. Comparable as an emerging competitor/adjacent technology to the Center's text-to-911 and citizen-profile capabilities.

Regional players

• Fairfax County Public Safety Communications (Virginia): Large county-operated consolidated PSAP serving Fairfax County, VA — a structural peer to the Center operating a single consolidated dispatch operation for multiple agencies in a growing suburban county.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ChasCountyGov
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/charlestoncountygov
• Facebookfacebook.com/ChasCountyGov
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/charleston-county-consolidated-911-center
• Instagraminstagram.com/chascountygov

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Charleston County Consolidated 9-1-1 Center