Rescue workers face delays as Knox County tries to restore 911 service

Fire and rescue workers around Rockland have grown frustrated with the sometimes inaccurate or delayed information they’re getting about emergencies after Knox County lost its ability to take 911 calls last summer and temporarily outsourced that work to a neighboring county.

But while 911 service may return to Knox County soon — after a push to fill staffing gaps at the regional communications center — officials have not totally agreed about a broader shift that’s been proposed for the facility.

The city of Rockland recently offered to take over management of the Knox County Regional Communications Center, but county officials say they’ve received little communication about the proposal and they’re not sure it would be necessary.

Since August, when the state revoked the ability of Knox County to take 911 calls because of a staffing shortage there, the Waldo County Regional Communications Center has been contracted to take those calls instead. It then sends that information back to dispatchers in Knox County, who alert local police, fire and emergency medical services.

But some of those services have been reporting occasional problems with the workaround. North East Mobile Health Services, which provides ambulance service in Rockport, has received incorrect addresses and codes for service from the dispatchers, according to division chief Jonathan Powers.

There have also been delays between when 911 calls are initially placed and when the agency finally hears about them, Powers said in an interview. On one occasion, there was a 15 minute delay in dispatching for a stroke patient in Rockport, he said, and the other day, his team was sent the wrong address for a call.

Any delays or inaccuracies in dispatch can be a problem when those agencies are responding to potentially life-threatening emergencies.

“It has been a strain on resources,” Powers said.

In response to those concerns, Waldo County Communications Director Michael Larravee said that both counties have access to a system that shows the details of calls in real time, so theoretically, dispatch times should be even faster. But, he acknowledged the internet can sometimes be slow.

Waldo County dispatchers have seen the number of 911 calls they take roughly double since taking on the Knox County contract, Larravee said. However, the Knox County calls require less work because his team is not handling the dispatch side.

Both Powers and Larravee also agreed that Waldo County dispatchers aren’t as familiar with Knox County as their counterparts who work there. That can make it more difficult to give a location when 911 callers don’t give a precise address, instead using landmarks or informal descriptions.

“You’re gonna get, ‘Hey, I live just a mile down from farmer Johnson’s barn that burned down 15 years ago. You know where that is right?’” Larravee said. “And, you know, a local dispatcher is like, ‘Yep, I know exactly where that is.’ But then you take a dispatcher who’s never worked that area before. They’re like, ‘I don’t know who the heck farmer Johnson is.’”

Regardless of whether the challenges stem from the dispatch services or their technology, Powers said that Knox County dispatchers do need more resources and better management than they have received.

Powers joined fire and police officials from Rockland in raising those concerns during a March 6 meeting at the county communications center, according to the Courier–Gazette.

“The citizens of Rockland are getting screwed,” Rockland Fire Chief Chris Whytock said at the March 6 meeting.

For months, Knox County officials have been working to hire and train more staff at the communications center so that it could get recertified to take 911 calls, which would help address some of the recent frustrations. Interim County Manager Gordon Page said that he expects the public safety answering point to be reinstated soon, before a recent three-month extension of the 911 contract with Waldo County expires.

But those assurances have not been enough for officials in Rockland, who recently offered to go one step further and take over the management of the center. City councilors agreed to send a letter to county commissioners seeking to hold talks about the proposal.

Tom Luttrell, Rockland’s city manager, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

In an interview, Page said that county and city officials have not yet held any discussions about the proposal. He did not rule out that management of the communications center could eventually shift to Rockland, and he said that county officials would work to ensure a smooth transition if that ends up making sense.

But given the ongoing improvements at the communications center, Page also said that such a big shift might not be necessary.

“The fact of the matter is that the progress that we’re making eventually is going to negate the need to make the change,” Page said. “First of all, we would not want to hand over a broken system to the city of Rockland.”

At the end of the day, Page added, “Bottom line in everybody’s mind, I think, is public safety.”

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