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 Fulscher
said the EMA staff were well prepared for such an emergency and put
into action their 911 backup system. Due to this, those who may be
calling in to 911 will noticed virtually no change in the response
time, or the services they would normally expect to receive from the
agency.
Fulscher said that the strike caused considerable damage to the
Emergency Operations Center software, but thanks to the firewall
installations, the computers themselves were not destroyed.
Telephone transmissions to 911 are working with both landline
phones and cellphones, but the radio communications from the 911
centers are not.
In implementing the emergency plans, a temporary command has been
set up at the Lincoln Rural Fire Department. The mobile
communications vehicle is being utilized at a location near to the
downtown area, and calls are being taken and transferred utilizing
Lincoln Rural equipment.
Fulscher said the EMA staff recently conducted a
training for such an emergency, and the plans they had in place to
serve Logan County are working very well. He said calls are being
handled in a timely fashion with only a 15- to 20-second delay as
information is transferred between the mobile unit and the emergency
command center.
Fulscher said the damage to the 911 center and related equipment is
significant. He currently has people working on the various programs,
and as they dig into the issues, they are continuing to find more
damage. Right now, Fulscher said he can't say for sure how long it
will take to get everything repaired; it could be days or it could
go into a couple of weeks.
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With the emergency backup plan in place, Fulscher said the
number of staff being utilized has increased considerably. There
are currently three personnel working in the mobile unit and
another three to four manning the command center at Lincoln
Rural. Normally there are two to three dispatchers on hand
during a regular shift.
One of the biggest changes staff are encountering is how they are
recording calls. With no working software, all calls are being taken
and recorded by hand. In addition, the call log, which is normally
done via computer, is being done by hand.
Fuslcher said it was a bad situation for all the EMA staff, but it
was being handled very well and he's very well pleased with how the EMA and 911 personnel have transitioned into this emergency backup
mode.
He concluded that for the public, 911 is still intact and working,
and the community can expect the same excellent service from 911 and
emergency services that they are accustomed to in Logan County.
[By NILA SMITH]
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