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Hernando Today

911 Service To Go Mobile Soon

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: July 25, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - 911 is hitting the road.

That's the plan anyway when the sheriff's mobile command center is updated with equipment for six dispatcher positions. The E-911 state grant program will cover the $342,843 tab required to complete the renovation.

Communications Director Bill Kicklighter heralds the recently approved money as a way to truly become a redundant service.

"It really makes the mobile command center a valuable, valuable asset," he said in an interview Wednesday.

Kicklighter oversees a dispatch that answers every 911 call and coordinates the movements of all first responders in the county except for Spring Hill Fire Rescue.

The Emergency Operations Center they work in is built to withstand hurricane-force winds, but is still vulnerable from the inside. If a fire, for instance, forced an evacuation, the dispatch calls would be routed through Spring Hill Fire Rescue and the Citrus County Sheriff's Office.

With the new grant money, the service will soon be performed through the mobile command center. The command center, purchased with drug forfeiture money, is a semi-tractor trailer truck hauling computers and radio equipment.

As its name implies, the truck provides a mobile gathering place for information and command staff in the event of an emergency, be it a hurricane or major shooting.

While it does carry some radio capability, its range is currently limited to the immediate area. With the new equipment, the mobile command center packs the full range of dispatch capabilities.

That means in the event of an evacuation from the center, a fiber-optic link will allow dispatchers to evacuate and immediately resume their duties in the parking lot. That umbilical cord with the building will provide a duplicate of all their tools, including computer-aided dispatch, maps and records storage.

Or, if a major hurricane strikes Hernando County, dispatchers can pack up and head for the hills without missing a call. The only setback in that scenario is that a 911 call would not contain extra information such as a phone number or address.

As Kicklighter points out, though, "when you're dealing with a crisis, just having a voice to answer your call is important."

Kicklighter could eliminate that drawback if he reaches a deal with current technology provider AT&T.

In a business that constantly deals with life or death situations, Kicklighter sees the upcoming changes as a huge advantage.

"You can never really have enough redundancy in this business," he said.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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