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RED Center (Fire/EMS) Dispatch Center

Emergency dispatching of the Wheeling Fire Department is provided by a joint FIRE/ EMS Dispatch Center in Northbrook, Illinois.

The dispatch center handles approximately 31,000 emergency calls per year and is responsible for a geographical area of approximately 100 square miles and 300,000 residents.  The Dispatch Center is certified by the Illinois Department of Public Health to provide "Emergency Medical Dispatch" (E.M.D.) - a system of providing pre-fire department arrival life saving emergency medical instructions to citizens over the telephone.

911 calls (land lines and wireless) are received by the Wheeling Police Department.  In the event that the call is for Fire Department service, the call is immediately transferred to the Emergency Dispatch Center.  Approximately 65% of all emergency calls are received from wireless 911.

This transfer takes approximately 4 seconds.  

RED Center  provides FIRE/EMS dispatching services for the Village of Wheeling, the Village of Northbrook, the Village of Morton Grove, the Village of Niles, the Village of Wilmette, the Village of Winnetka, the Village of Lincolnwood, the Village of Highwood, the Prospect Heights Fire Protection District, the Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District, the Long Grove Fire Protection District, the Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection District, the Village of Northfield, and the North Maine Fire Protection District.