Question from Anonymous
Please tell us what the new 911 countywide system would offer the citizens. Also, please explain how the present system works.
Michael Bryant answered:
Currently Madison County is served by two separate 911 systems; Madison County 911 and Richmond 911. Late last year Madison County and the City of Berea decided to combine 911 services. The merger came after lengthy discussions between Madison County, Richmond, and Berea. The Richmond City Commission decided to remain independent and not join with Berea and the County.
The Madison County 911 Center is currently located in the Madison County Emergency Operations Center. Within a few months it will relocate into a state of the art facility in the basement of the new Madison County Joint Information and Federal Response Center. Madison County 911 dispatches for Berea Police, Berea Fire and Rescue, Madison County Fire, the Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Medical Services, Emergency Management Agency and the Rescue Squad. If you dial 911 from Berea or anywhere in the County, either on a land line or a cell phone needing police, fire, or an ambulance, your call goes to one location and is dispatched from the that same location.
The Richmond 911 Center dispatches for Richmond Police, Fire and Rescue and Safety Officers. It is located in the basement of Richmond City Hall. If you need an ambulance and live in the City of Richmond and call on a land line your call will be transferred to the Madison County 911 Center. If you live in the Richmond city limits and need the Police or Fire Department and call on a cell phone your call goes to Madison 911 and is then transferred to Richmond 911.
If you call 911 from a landline or a cell phone seeking the Kentucky State Police from Berea, Richmond, or Madison County your call is transferred. The only other calls transferred from out of the Madison County 911 Center are cell phone calls that “bounce” from cell towers in other counties.
There has been some confusion about transferring 911 calls. The fact is that Richmond experiences most of the transferred emergency calls. Need an ambulance in Richmond and call from a land line; transferred. Need the police or fire in Richmond and call from a cell phone; transferred. A consolidated 911 system would eliminate the precious time that an emergency call is made to the time the first responders roll. The governments of Madison County and Berea are to be commended for having the vision to look beyond politics and act to improve the safety and quality of life for their citizens. The Richmond City Commission should follow suite. If elected I will work to make a merger possible.
The Madison County 911 Center is currently located in the Madison County Emergency Operations Center. Within a few months it will relocate into a state of the art facility in the basement of the new Madison County Joint Information and Federal Response Center. Madison County 911 dispatches for Berea Police, Berea Fire and Rescue, Madison County Fire, the Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Medical Services, Emergency Management Agency and the Rescue Squad. If you dial 911 from Berea or anywhere in the County, either on a land line or a cell phone needing police, fire, or an ambulance, your call goes to one location and is dispatched from the that same location.
The Richmond 911 Center dispatches for Richmond Police, Fire and Rescue and Safety Officers. It is located in the basement of Richmond City Hall. If you need an ambulance and live in the City of Richmond and call on a land line your call will be transferred to the Madison County 911 Center. If you live in the Richmond city limits and need the Police or Fire Department and call on a cell phone your call goes to Madison 911 and is then transferred to Richmond 911.
If you call 911 from a landline or a cell phone seeking the Kentucky State Police from Berea, Richmond, or Madison County your call is transferred. The only other calls transferred from out of the Madison County 911 Center are cell phone calls that “bounce” from cell towers in other counties.
There has been some confusion about transferring 911 calls. The fact is that Richmond experiences most of the transferred emergency calls. Need an ambulance in Richmond and call from a land line; transferred. Need the police or fire in Richmond and call from a cell phone; transferred. A consolidated 911 system would eliminate the precious time that an emergency call is made to the time the first responders roll. The governments of Madison County and Berea are to be commended for having the vision to look beyond politics and act to improve the safety and quality of life for their citizens. The Richmond City Commission should follow suite. If elected I will work to make a merger possible.