We are honored to collaborate with the Boone County Commission on the design of the new 911 Center for Boone County. Read more about the importance of this critical project in the article from WOWK below.

DANVILLE, W.Va. (WOWK) — Boone County officials are working to create a better working environment for those first responders who literally answer the call.

911 telecommunicators are a lifeline for those in an emergency.

“You know, we’re here 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,” said Michael Mayhorn, director of emergency management and 911 in Boone County. “Our telecommunicators operate 12-hour shifts. So, there’s someone in the room, in the seat, ready to take a call 12 hours a day.”

Now, Mayhorn, along with the Boone County Commission, is working to support their telecommunicators by creating a new center for them to work in.

“The room that they’re in is a very small room. It has no windows. It has very short ceilings. It’s very cramped at times,” Mayhorn said. “So having a space that is newer for those folks to be able to have, you know, maybe natural lighting, more space to work in, have better equipment, have a, you know, a fresh environment for those folks, for their well-being, is something that we’re looking forward to.”

It aims to better their well-being as answering emergency calls can be traumatic.

“Think about taking a call from a one-month-old that stopped breathing on its mother, traumatic. Or, a person who may have just got trapped in a mine or someone’s house just caught fire, and they lost a dog, or they lost a loved one,” Mayhorn said. “You know, think about sitting in a room and taking calls like that all day long. 12 hours a day, seven days a week, for a shift for someone and not even having closure to those calls.”

Mayhorn also said that giving them a safe and healthy environment can help support the telecommunicators.

“What can we do for that? We can improve their environment to help them with that,” said Mayhorn. “We can give them, you know, the best equipment, the best space, the best comforts.”

Jeff Petry, a member of the Boone County Commission, said they recently purchased a plot of land west of Madison.

He said, in addition to the better environment that supports the telecommunicators, it’s also a better location to connect with the whole county.

“We feel like that’s going to put us in a better position than ever whenever it comes to reaching all the county with a good radio frequency to have communications county-wide,” Petry said.

Currently, the project is in the design phase, which is expected to last until the end of 2026 as designs for the new bunk room, quiet room — where telecommunicators can process tough calls — and all mandated equipment are in progress.

The work is all part of an effort to make sure first responders get where they need to be.

“It’s all about getting the right people to the right place at the right time,” Petry said. “So, it’s never an issue until you make a call and people don’t show up. That’s what we never want.”

He said an investment in public safety is an investment that supports the entire community.

“And an investment in public safety for the county is definitely a wise investment, whether it’s now, whether it’s 15 years from now, we want to do this,” Petry said. “We want to do it right and provide a very stable, long-term future for our emergency services in Boone County.”

Petry also said that the new facility can have the ability to host different types of training and better equip all first responders.