August 25, 2016

Montgomery County 911 Dispatchers Now Under One Roof As Regional Authority

http://www.wdbj7.com/content/news/Montgomery-County-911-dispatchers-now-under-one-roof-as-regional-authority-391347542.html

By Justin Ward | Posted: Thu 6:42 PM, Aug 25, 2016 | Updated: Thu 8:03 PM, Aug 25, 2016

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (WDBJ7) A new emergency dispatch center could mean you could get help faster in an emergency in Montgomery County.

All of Montgomery County's dispatchers that were formerly based in Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Montgomery County and Virginia Tech are now under one roof in the county's Public Safety Building.

The move reduces phone transfers from each agency, which allows them to get to your emergency faster.

"One of the things we're excited about first and foremost the reduction in response times because we're not transferring 911 calls across four different boundaries," said Donna Brown, the executive director of the new 911 center.

The New River Valley Emergency Communications Regional Authority is now a separate entity and is the first of its kind in Virginia.

Previously each dispatch center was under the direction of law enforcement offices.