In addition to serving as the primary dispatch center for the Erie County Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Services, MERS Control:

• Provides medical interrogation and pre-arrival instructions following national standards for 9-1-1 calls in the City of Buffalo, Town of Evans and the Town of Orchard Park. We also provide back up interrogation and pre-arrival instructions to the Town of Lancaster.
• Provides emergency response to potential and actual disaster situations to provide support staff and coordination to the on scene Incident Commander. A majority of our staff are also cross-trained to serve a variety of functions such as staffing the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), Mobile Command Centers, ATV Search & Rescue Units. MERS Staff also serves with other ESU team members in setting up safe and effective traffic control for various sobriety checkpoints across the county under the coordination of the county's STOP DWI program.
• MERS is the Erie County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ answering point for the Mutualink System. This system allows emergency personnel to communicate via radio, intercom and video with units in the field in real time as well as allowing us to share media, such as streaming videos, with them as needed. This system also allows us to communicate with other centers across the country in the event of an incident.
• MERS also functions as the Erie County answering point for The National Warning System (NAWAS) alerting first responders to weather related emergencies.

All of our dispatchers have a background in Emergency Medical Services serving as Emergency Medical Technicians or higher, all dispatchers maintain Advanced Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) certifications and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation training.

Furthermore a majority of our staff give back to the community by serving with local fire departments and emergency squads.