Ground is set to be broken for a new 911 center in Fayette County, which will provide improved facilities and up-to-date equipment for the Fayette County Office of Emergency Services and the county 911.

Currently, personnel work out of a cramped office in the basement of the Memorial Building in Fayetteville. The new, 7,650-square-foot building will be located at Wolf Creek Park, a county-owned business park.

The facility will double the current available space, said county 911 director David Neal.

“We’ll also be above ground, with storage space, so we can have a better work environment,” said Neal.

Call center equipment will also be updated.

“Current, state-of-the art technology and electronics will be in the new building,” said Neal. “Some of our equipment is nearly 20 years old.”

One addition to the 911 center’s toolkit will be the ability to field emergency communications via social networking technology like Twitter, text messaging and Facebook.

“If you’re involved in a domestic dispute, for example, and your significant other is in the process of being violent with you, you may be able to manage a text message rather than take the risk of a verbal phone call,” said Neal.

“It’s out there and a common practice in daily living. Why shouldn’t we have the opportunity to do the same thing? We’ll just be accepting what is already accepted in normal, everyday life. Why should we be stuck with just a phone call?”

Neal said he expects the center to be complete in the summer of 2012. The construction contract was awarded to Radford & Radford in September. So far, the site has been prepped for winter construction.

“The equipment should be moving in very soon to start digging foundations and footers,” said Neal. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a good bit of work done by the time the end of the year rolls around.”

The new center was approved by the Fayette County Commission in August, at a cost of $1.8 million.

"Groundbreaking set for Fayette 911 Center" Register Herald 28 October 2011