Polk County is upgrading equipment and furniture at the primary and back-up E-911 Communications Centers with funds from North Carolina Dept. of Information Technology’s 911 Fund.

Earlier this month, Communications Center personnel, Polk County Maintenance and IT personnel, the NC 911 Board, Duke Energy, Kimball Communications, AT&T and several other vendors completed upgrades at the back-up E-911 Center housed at Green Creek Fire Rescue. They also began updates at the Primary E-911 Center at 20 East Mills St. in Columbus, replacing furniture and equipment originally purchased in 2006.

Tables that held equipment at both the primary and back-up centers had become unstable and could not accommodate required console equipment.  

“Once we spoke with the NC 911 Board we determined that we were eligible to make these upgrades using NC 911 Surcharge Program funds,” E-911 Director Jeremy Gregg said.

The new furniture was placed at the back-up 911 Center first and E-911 personnel have moved to that site while the updates at the primary center in Columbus are completed. These upgrades are part of an overall plan being developed between the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and Polk County Local Government’s County Manager’s Office to bring much needed technology and infrastructure upgrades to the E-911 and Emergency Communications systems countywide.

Once both sites are upgraded and fully functional, Gregg said E-911 personnel will have scheduled and unscheduled times that they work out of the back-up site.

Like other emergency service agencies in Polk County, the E-911 Communications Center plans and trains for the unexpected.

“In large-scale events like severe weather or other disasters, we now also have the capability to answer calls and operate at both locations simultaneously,” Gregg said.