CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Video technology used by Chesterfield County 911 dispatchers saved firefighters crucial minutes during a recent house fire on Hawkins Wood Circle.
The fire broke out around 11:15 Monday morning, leaving a family without a home.
The person who called 911 used a technology called Prepared 911, which the county rolled out in 2024.
It allows dispatchers, police, and fire to see what is happening in real time.
It works like this: When you call 911, the dispatcher will send you a link on your cell phone. The caller can then give permission for the dispatcher to access your camera, microphone and location.
If you do, the dispatcher is provided with a live stream of what's happening.
"They were able to send the link to the initial 911 caller. The caller was able to click on the link, use the link, provide us a video before we even arrived, so we knew what units to make sure that we sent," Assistant Fire Chief John Boatwright said.
Boatwright said the live video helped them call for a second alarm quickly, which helped protect neighboring homes. For this specific fire, it saved crews five minutes.
"Chesterfield County covers a large area and the only place we can make up time is turnout time. We can’t make it up on the road. Five miles is five miles. But if we can get out of the station quicker, get the word in quicker, we’re going to save time and get more help to the city," Boatwright said.
In 2025, Chesterfield County's Emergency Communication Center received more than 553,000 calls.
The community has stepped up to support the family impacted by the fire, raising nearly $20,000 through a GoFundMe.
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