City of Port Angeles

The center provides quality emergency dispatch services to the Port Angeles Police and Fire Departments, Clallam County Sheriff's Department, Sequim Police Department, Lower Elwha Tribal Police, La Push Tribal Police, Olympic National Park Rangers, and four rural fire protection districts.

NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATIONS WEEK
Posted April 12, 2010 - Public Safety / 911 Dispatchers are being recognized this week, both by the State of Washington and nationally. The 911 Dispatchers are the voice behind the phone and radio. In Clallam County they work for an agency called PenCom.

PenCom is a division of the Port Angeles Police Department and operates under the direction of the Chief of Police, Terry Gallagher. PenCom is funded by most of the law enforcement, fire, and emergency service agencies in Clallam County , and these agencies make up an advisory board which helps guide the operation of PenCom. The 16 member agencies are City of Port Angeles Fire and Police, the Clallam County Sheriff, City of Sequim Police, Fire Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, Lower Elwha Tribal Police, City of Forks Police, La Push Police, Jamestown Fish and Game, Forks Ambulance, Olympic Ambulance, and Olympic National Park.


Left to Right: Call Taker Matt Laricos, Communications Officer Kylie Hafer Click photos to view larger image size

PenCom has 15 communications officers, three supervisors, one communications manager, two IT/computer staff, and one warrant/restraining entry program support staff. Three communications officer positions are currently vacant. PenCom covers 911 "dispatch" with a minimum of 3 communications officers (public safety dispatchers) on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In 2009 PenCom staff handled 32,019 total 911 calls, and an additional 37,000 calls for law enforcement service, an additional 1,500 fire calls for service, and an 8,500 medical calls for service. In 2009 over 4300 arrest warrants and 955 restraining orders were also processed by PenCom.

The Port Angeles Police Department is proud of the work performed by the PenCom staff and the service they provide the Community. "The PenCom staff is an outstanding group of people dedicated to public service," said PenCom Manager Steve Romberg.

Romberg was born in Port Townsend and graduated from high school in Lynnwood. He moved to Port Angeles to study law enforcement at Peninsula College.

Always wanting to be a police officer, Romberg started his career as a Clallam County Reserve Deputy Sheriff in 1979 and in 1980 served as a corrections officer in the Clallam County Jail. In 1981 he transferred to dispatch and then served as a sheriff deputy until 1983.

His family moved to the Palm Springs area where he served as a security officer until 1986. Realizing that dispatch was his true passion and wanting to move closer to home, Romberg first worked as a dispatcher for Snohomish County for two years before coming back to Port Angeles.

Steve Romberg has been a dispatcher with the City of Port Angeles since 1988. He was promoted to Supervisor in 1998.

Call 911 should you have an emergency, or call 360-452-4545 for general information. Listen to your local radio station 1450 AM.

Refer to your telephone book for information regarding other emergency assistance. Make sure you have stored a minimum of one gallon of water, per person, per day.

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321 East 5th Street - P.O. Box 1150 / Port Angeles, WA 98362
Phone: 360-457-0411 / TTY: 360-417-4645
General City Email: information@cityofpa.us
Web Site: webmaster@cityofpa.us
Disclaimer

Pen Com, or Peninsula Communications, is the communications division for the Port Angeles Police Department.

Pen Com is the centralized answering point for all 911 calls in Clallam County and the Jefferson County portion of Olympic National Park.