VIDEO: Leaders with Cedar County Emergency Management are calling a six-month-old update to a 911 radio network life-changing.
Up until October 2023, 911 dispatchers were operating on just one radio channel to communicate with law enforcement, paramedics, and firefighters. So if there was a fire call and a life-emergency call at the same time, they would have to interrupt either channel depending on each situation and how it unfolds.
“Prior to this system, we couldn’t talk to the fire departments, ambulances, we were on a stand-alone system. We couldn’t talk with the state patrol or the surrounding counties,” said Cedar County Sheriff Warren Wethington.
Now, they’re able to operate on multiple channels to serve more residents -- 99.2 percent of county residents, to be exact.