Ohio’s new 911 system will shave response times by pinpointing callers’ locations
By: Morgan Anderson
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THE PLAINS, Ohio (WOUB) — Ohio’s 911 system is getting a major overhaul with a $46 million upgrade aimed at improving its services across the state.
Washington and Monroe counties in southeast Ohio are the first to implement Next Generation 911, a new internet-based 911 system that allows text messages, photos and videos to be sent directly to dispatchers.
“Every second counts in an emergency,” said Douglas Moore, the 911 director for Washington County. But Moore noted that the current 911 system in Ohio has not been the most efficient when it comes to determining a caller’s exact location and routing them to the correct dispatch center.
“When someone’s calling for help and they get somebody to answer, and they go, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I have to hold on the line, I have to transfer you,’ that just doesn’t instill the confidence and the reliability that the community needs,” Moore said.
The new Next Generation 911 system has already reduced dropped calls by 75% in Washington County this year. In the past, dispatchers relied on cellphone towers to trace a caller’s location. In many rural areas, cellphone towers can be few and far between, which makes triangulating a caller’s location even more difficult.
The new system uses geo-tracking technology, pinpointing a caller’s exact location, similar to apps like Find My iPhone or Life360.
“For example, if you’re being abducted and all you could do is dial 911, hit the call button, and they take your phone and decline it, we’re still going to be able to trace that phone and track it for 15 minutes,” said Joshua Clegg, Athens County 911 emergency communications coordinator.
This swiftness is crucial in rural areas where dispatch teams are often smaller.
“In rural areas, there’s less hands on deck to handle the calls,” Moore said. “It takes the burden off the sheriff’s office, which was previously answering every single phone call in the county.”
Next Generation 911 is expected to improve response times in rural areas, which typically see delays that are twice as long as urban areas, according to the Ohio Department of Administrative Services.
Athens County, along with seven other counties — Carroll, Champaign, Columbiana, Hardin, Harrison, Morgan and Union — are currently involved in the pilot program, also known as Phase 2. The pilot phase allows these counties to test and refine the system before statewide implementation this spring.
With the allocated funds, Athens County broke ground on a new 911 center in August 2023. The previous dispatch center and emergency management agency (EMA) shared the basement of the sheriff’s office.
The new facility, which houses the EMA, spans 10,600 square feet and is expected to cost about $12 million, according to Teresa Fouts-Imler, Athens County 911/EMA director. The project is funded by a quarter-percent sales tax approved through a five-year levy, along with a $500,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission.
The new facility is located at 75 Connett Road, The Plains, across from The Plains Intermediate School.
As the 911 center nears completion, Fouts-Imler said refined emergency services opportunities in southeast Ohio were a no-brainer.
“Why not us?” Fouts-Imler said. “We have the university here. We have a population of 68,000 people. We deserve the same service that anybody else deserves in the country.”
The new Athens County 911 Center will handle about 100,000 calls annually and is expected to be fully operational by March.
As for what’s next, Ohio’s 88 counties are expected to have Next Generation 911 by this spring, with counties that have not transitioned given five years to complete the upgrade.