Communications

Overview

The enhanced 911 Emergency Telephone System allows the public to obtain law enforcement, fire, rescue, and emergency medical response. This system receives and dispatches approximately 25,000 calls a year, ranging from emergencies to routine calls for public safety assistance.

All 911 calls originating in the Town of Boone are received in the Town's Emergency Telecommunications Center. This center is located at the Boone Police Headquarters at 1500 Blowing Rock Road in Boone. Trained telecommunications personnel provide 24-hour/day staffing to ensure an appropriate and rapid response from fire, police, and/or EMS.

When a telecommunicator answers a 911 call, a screen instantly shows the telephone number from where the call is placed. Within 2 seconds, the screen is updated to include the location and address information of where the caller is located. This helps the telecommunicator locate the caller even if the phone is hung up or disconnected.

Certification & Linguistics

All Boone Telecommunicators are state and nationally certified to give vital pre-arrival medical instruction to those in need of medical assistance prior to EMS arrival.

To ensure an adequate response to our non-English speaking community, the center contracts with AT&T Language Line Services. Through this service, they have access to interpreters available for over 140 languages, 24 hours a day, seven days a week with an average connection time to obtain an interpreter of 25 seconds. Language Line is the industry leader in providing world-class service. One example of this is their active participation and certification with the National Foreign Language Center setting national standards in interpretation services. The results are interpreters who clearly, accurately, and quickly handle these types of calls.