The City of Seattle is now responding to 911 calls in a new way since the CARE department took over operations last October. In addition to police and fire crews, the center can now dispatch community crisis responders, who are behavioral health specialists. Last year, the 911 center saw more than 880,000 calls, which is the highest number it has seen in at least the past five years. Despite now having community crisis responders available to assist with mental health calls, the CARE Department said police staffing shortages has created challenges. On Thursday morning, 911 call takers kept up with call volumes and didn't place anyone on hold. But one supervisor said that is not always the case, depending on the priority of calls and the number of people calling in about the same emergency situation. “It can range from 2 to 5 minutes depending on staffing,” said Christina Fomby, a communications supervisor at the 911 Center. “It has a lot to do with what's going on in the city.” READ MORE: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/inside-seattle-911-center-emergency-dispatch/281-42c91ce7-3797-4471-a154-121848bd968c