Fremont, Madison counties upgrade 911 system

Local counties are upgrading 911 technology to ensure that if you have to make that call, it goes smoothly.

Fremont County is partnering with Madison County to move to the latest technology. They will spend the week training on what is called Next Generation 911, the same as the system in Bonneville County. Now, all emergency correspondence would go through computers.

Eventually, the counties could take emergency text messages. While the system is ready, providers are not. It shouldn’t replace a traditional phone call when possible, but it would be a useful tool for the hearing-impaired community or for people in areas where cell service is too low to make a call.

“One thing you’ve probably also see with text messaging is you might get one a few days or a few hours late, so I wouldn’t rely on text messaging, at least not now,” said Fremont County Sheriff Len Humphries.

One thing that can be relied on is that calls will be answered quickly. That is part of the partnership.

“For example, if we get overwhelmed with calls here, the calls can automatically roll down to Madison County and they can pick them up. We already share radio systems,” said Humphries.

The counties also can share costs, though the initial expense came mostly from a grant.

“In Fremont County we received a grant for $196,000 that was through the Emergency Communications Commission. That will pay for 98 percent of what we are doing,” said Humphries.

The new system will use the same operators, and nothing will change for those who call. It’s been nine years since Fremont County last upgraded its 911 system.