The Richmond area is well on the way to replenishing its supply of critically needed 911 emergency communications officers.

The region's four largest 911 centers have been inundated with potential applicants as a first-of-its-kind, multijurisdictional recruitment campaign to fill about three dozen vacancies winds down this month.

More than 4,500 people have expressed interest in the jobs since the campaign was launched in early April. Organizers touted the theme "On the Way" to signify how applicants could be on their way to a rewarding career.

Some localities have received more inquiries in just a few weeks than they typically get in a year.

"In the first couple of weeks, this increased us tenfold in the number of applicants," said Pam Cimburke, programs administrator for Chesterfield County's 911 Emergency Communications Center, which has received 1,800 applications and counting. "It gave us more people to choose from."

Under a more traditional hiring process, the center might get 80 applications in two weeks, and less than half of those would be qualified, Cimburke said.

"Now I have a much bigger selection," Cimburke said. "That was our whole [intent] -- we were hoping for a better and a larger selection of people."

Chesterfield has roughly 10 positions to fill.

Since the campaign began, Hanover County has received about 400 applications, and Henrico County and Richmond have each received about 1,200. The city stopped taking applications several weeks ago, partly because of the overwhelming response.

Hanover has three positions to fill, Henrico has 12 and Richmond 11.

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling announced the initiative April 23 in what he described as the country's first such effort involving multiple jurisdictions. With a $289,400 grant from Virginia's Wireless E-911 Services Board, the area's big four localities partnered to advertise for 911 operators.

"It's sort of a national crisis as far as staffing emergency 911 centers nationwide," said Charlie Udriet, deputy director of Hanover's 911 center and chairman of the Central Virginia Emergency Communications Group. "And it's starting to affect the central Virginia area."

A multimedia and public-relations blitz led by Excite Marketing in Richmond blanketed the area with television and radio spots, billboard ads, brochures, a 30-minute television program and even promotions on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.

Officials in Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico have praised the campaign as a boon to their recruitment efforts. The campaign appears to have had less impact in Richmond, which began its own effort independently last year.

"We're very pleased with how [the campaign] turned out, and we're also pleased with the response we've gotten," said Richmond police Capt. Will Smith, who commands the city's 911 center. "[But] we weren't in a position where it has helped us at all. It's always nice to have an insurance policy, and that's the way we viewed this marketing campaign."

Area 911 officials are now wading through the applications and have begun the testing and interviewing process. Chesterfield, for example, has winnowed its applicant pool from 1,800 to 575; those remaining will undergo testing for suitability.

Chesterfield hopes to begin filling its vacancies by mid-August. Henrico is looking to hire by Sept. 29, Hanover by Oct. 1. Richmond is doing background checks on about 16 people who "are just waiting to be signed off on and hired," Smith said.

Once the results are evaluated, the campaign could be used as a model for other localities in Virginia and across the country.

"We've had a lot of interest from a lot of different [officials] throughout the state, in terms of wanting to learn from what already has happened and adapt it to their own areas," said Dorothy Spears-Dean, public safety communications coordinator for Virginia. "We're actually looking at this from a statewide level, so there will be more to come."
Contact Mark Bowes at (804) 649-6450 or mbowes@timesdispatch.com.