VIDEOS: A 911 radio dispatch upgrade is coming to Upshur County, and officials say it will speed up response times to fire and medical calls in rural areas of the county. Upshur County Sheriff Larry Webb has been working with Emergency Services Districts, or ESDs, in Upshur County since January to upgrade the way they dispatch emergency personnel.
“I think there was a lag time that was being created because we receive all the 911 calls for the county. That’s for law enforcement response, EMS response or fire,” Webb said. The sheriff said currently, fire and EMS calls are relayed to the Gilmer Fire Department, who in turn would dispatch the closest first responders in the county. But, soon that will change. “Now, what that’s going to do is we’re actually going to get the 911 call, start the call sheet and immediately dispatch responding fire units to the scene. So, hopefully what we’re looking at is to increase the response time for fire to get there,” Webb said.
