MOUNT VERNON — An emergency situation occurs, so you call 9-1-1. Then, in some areas of Knox County, you hear, “Please hold while I transfer you.”
Brian Hess, director of Knox County Emergency Management and 9-1-1, said no one in Knox County should hear that phrase by late spring of 2011.
Emergency calls from cell phones are all initially routed to the Knox County 9-1-1 call center, those needing assistance from Mount Vernon emergency services are currently transfered so that 9-1-1 dispatchers in the city can field the information.
“We all have a collective goal that nobody should have to be transferred,” he said. “We went to a new computer program, Emergitech, that should take care of that. Once the computer system gets everything taken care of, you won’t ever hear that again in Knox County. There were some kinks to be worked out, and about two weeks ago we found there were still some replication issues with the [9-1-1] call.”
