Press release
Târgu Mureș, 11.02.2024
European 112 Emergency Number Day in Targu Mures
In March 2001, the first Integrated Emergency Dispatch Centre in Romania was established in the Municipality of Targu Mures, in the old Romtelecom building - a pilot programme initiated by SMURD and the Municipality of Targu Mures, financed by the REMSEY Programme of the Swiss Government, the working model being inspired by the EU countries, especially the Nordic countries Finland and Sweden, which was later developed with the Finnish side.
In order to be operational, the intensive training cycle for emergency operators was started in the summer of 2000, including 15 operators employed by the Târgu Mureș City Hall, 5 employees of the Mureș County Gendarmerie Inspectorate, as well as the coordinating doctors of SMURD and the Mureș County Ambulance Service.
In 2004, with the designation of the Special Telecommunications Service as the administrator of the National Emergency Call System (SNUAU) and given the fact that an Integrated Emergency Dispatch already operated in Târgu Mureș, together with the Târgu Mureș City Hall, STS continued this project in order to improve the dispatching system by taking over, analysing and dispatching emergency cases, monitoring intersections, GPS monitoring of emergency teams of SMURD, SAJ, ISU, Jandarmerie, Local Police.
In 2007, the new integrated dispatching project was started, which involved a new building dedicated exclusively to the 112 Integrated Emergency Dispatching (the old location having become technically unsuitable from a housing point of view), with the support of the Mures County Council, which granted a 99-year land concession for the building, also contributing to the salary of part of the 112 Dispatching operators. The purpose of this dispatch centre was to bring together specialised personnel from all the emergency services, namely: the "Horea" Emergency Inspectorate of Mures County + MSURD, the Mures County Ambulance Service, the Mures County Gendarmerie Inspectorate, the Local Police, operators from the Târgu Mureș City Hall and the Special Telecommunications Service. Through this new dispatching model, as well as the presence of all agencies (emergency services) in the same dispatching centre, the aim was to reduce the response time of emergency crews, as well as to integrate, not only at technical but also at human level, all the components necessary for taking, recording, storing and transmitting 112 emergency calls, respectively alerting emergency agencies (Ambulance, SMURD, Police, Fire Brigade, Gendarmerie, Mountain Rescue, Târgu Mureș Local Police).
The Integrated Emergency Dispatch 112 Târgu Mureș together with the Integrated Dispatch in Bucharest coordinates and dispatches the SMURD helicopters at national level, the one in Târgu Mureș being responsible for the coordination of the SMURD helicopter in Mureș, Arad, Jibou, Brașov and Caraș Severin.
As of 01.01.2024, the Dispatch staff has been supplemented by a UPU-SMURD medical assistant post, which will support the coordinating doctor, the shift manager and the ISU radio operator in the management of air medical emergencies.
In the last quarter of 2023, intensive training on the new 112 emergency call handling software platform to be implemented began for staff belonging to STS, DAS, SAJ, ISU-SMUIRD, IPJ, IJJ from the 112 Integrated Emergency Dispatch.
Also, the Special Telecommunications Service, through the project "Modernization of the hardware and software infrastructure of the Single National System for Emergency Calls", has contributed to the renewal of the hardware systems owned by the Dispatch (computers, monitors, servers, telephony, communications and radio services, IT networks, etc.), and in the next period will introduce the new software for handling 112 emergency calls. This will allow for shorter waiting times for emergency calls, faster and more efficient interventions by improving the accuracy of emergency location and more efficient collaboration between public institutions, the possibility to receive and attach additional data during the emergency call (video, images), the preservation and improvement of all current facilities and the handling of calls from people with disabilities.
According to data provided by the Special Telecommunications Service, the administrator of the single national system for emergency calls 112, during the year 2023, out of a total of 504,789 calls received by the 112 Integrated Emergency Dispatch, 142.409 calls were genuine calls and 190,513 were non-emergency calls (non-emergency calls include false alarms, abusive calls, silent calls, misdialing, caller enquiries). For ISU-SMURD - 25,622 calls were taken, for the County Ambulance Service - 106,686 calls, for the Mures County Police Inspectorate - 35.500 calls, for the County Gendarmerie Inspectorate - a number of 3364 calls and for other agencies - a number of 695 calls.In Târgu Mureș, every day, 35 specialized operators, from all emergency agencies, 112 people, through their work manage interventions in emergency situations. They are first responders, always on the other end of the line, and every day, through their involvement, they can save a life, a property or the environment.
We express our gratitude to all those behind this number for their hard work and the lives saved! In emergencies, every second counts!
Târgu Mureș Social Assistance Department
