Credit: County of Bucks
An article in the newspaper and a report on a Philadelphia television station have started a conversation about expensive chairs Bucks County is purchasing for 9-1-1 dispatchers.
The county Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of 38 steel-framed chairs from CR Solutions Inc. of Eagleville. The total order comes to $36, 861, which is $970 a chair.
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County Director of Emergency Communications Pete Ference said at this week’s commissioners meeting that the chairs are worth the cost because emergency dispatchers are sitting for 12 hours a day. In an emergency situation where they could get held past their shift, they could be in that chair for nearly 16 hours, he added.
“There are folks sitting in a chair all day long,” Ference said.
The deal for new chairs from CR Solutions was the “lowest bid” for the USA-made chairs with a three-year warranty, Chairman Robert Loughery said.
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The previous chairs used in the county 9-1-1 center in Ivyland were $550 and lasted about three years.
County dispatchers handle all 9-1-1 calls and emergency service dispatch for the entire county. The new building in Ivyland was opened in 2008.
