NRRM installs emergency call boxes along Alaska Highway

FORT NELSON, B.C. — The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) has installed five roadside emergency call boxes along the Alaska Highway.

The call boxes have been installed along a 500-kilometre stretch that previously had no way to contact emergency services between Prophet River and Fort Nelson, as well as between Fort Nelson and the Yukon border.

Each call box was installed at designated pullout locations along the Alaska Highway.

Site one is south of Fort Nelson, between the municipality and Prophet River; site two is across from the Summit Lake Campground at Stone Mountain Provincial Park; site three is north of the community of Toad River; site four is across from the Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park; and site five is north of the community of Fireside.

In the event of an emergency, travellers can locate the nearest call box by signage along the Alaska Highway and push the button on the front of the call box to call 9-1-1.

The NRRM says there may be a 30-second delay for satellite connection.

When the operator picks up, the caller will be prompted to provide the call box number for location purposes. The number can be found on the front of the box.

From there, the operator will ask for the type of emergency services needed and will dispatch accordingly.

The NRRM continues to work with telecommunications service providers, Indigenous communities, and other levels of government since the confirmation of funding in August 2022.

Since 2017, the province has invested $584 million to expand high-speed internet access to rural and First Nations communities by 2027.

The goal of the funding is to ensure each community has better access to jobs, education, training and health care.

“It’s incredible how technology continues to break barriers and bring people together, and this is a prime example of that,” said Rob Fraser, Mayor of the NRRM. 

“It’s a long overdue project, but we are proud to say that now, with funding and this technology, we can offer more safety to everyone using Highway 97. These emergency call boxes are an essential asset to all of us — being a stepping stone to the province’s ultimate goal of having a more connected province.”

The NRRM says the project was partially funded by the municipality, which contributed approximately $12,000, and by the provincial government through the Connecting B.C. program, administered by the Northern Development Initiative Trust.

The province contributed approximately $107,000, or 90 per cent, of the project’s total cost of $119,000.

The NRRM says the call boxes are weatherproof, solar-powered call boxes programmed to dial 9-1-1 via satellite because the remote locations do not support WiFi or cell-based services.

“Increasing public safety on major routes like the Alaska Highway corridor is critically important to ensure people feel safe when travelling,” said Lisa Beare, B.C. Minister of Citizens’ Services. 

“Now that these call boxes are installed, people will have more access to the emergency services they need when they need them.”

The call boxes do not cover all of the NRRM, and the municipality says work is continuing to encourage the expansion of broadband and cell infrastructure along major routes and in rural communities.

The NRRM says the hope is there will not be a resident, traveller or worker out of communication options.

More information on Connecting B.C. can be found on the provincial government’s website.