Hamilton County, Tenn., became the latest municipality to go live with Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP), a technology that automates communication between alarm monitoring central stations and 911 centers, resulting in improved accuracy and speed of emergency response.

With the implementation, Hamilton County is the first agency in Tennessee to go online with ASAP.

In areas where it is used, ASAP delivers alarm notification information from central stations directly to public safety answering points (PSAPs) via computer rather than by phone, eliminating the need for communication between monitoring center operators and 911 operators.

ASAP was created in partnership with The Monitoring Association (TMA) and the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO), with Vector Security President and CEO Pam Petrow co-chairing the steering committee. Vector Security was the first alarm company to use ASAP in the City of Richmond, Va., in 2012. Vector Security assisted with implementation in Hamilton County by helping to perform extensive testing prior to the system going live.