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COAL COUNTY, OK -- Every second counts during an emergency and soon Coal County first responders will be able to cut down response time with their first ever 911 dispatch center.
Without a 911 dispatch center Coal County first responders often have to take their own emergency calls, which means adding time when seconds count.
"It's life or death. I mean that two minutes could mean that person surviving a heart attack," Alle Stilwell, a first responder and new dispatcher, said.
"Minutes and seconds is the difference between life and death," Jennifer Malone, the 911 Coordinator, said.
By February 6th first responders will be able to get out the door and to their destination much quicker with the help of the new 911 dispatch center.
A room in the new Coalgate Fire Department will be filled with new radio equipment that will help four dispatchers tell law enforcement and emergency crews where to go.
"We'll be able to just hear it over the PA system and head straight to the ambulance," Stilwell said.
"The response time that we are going to improve is critical. It's going to make a huge difference not only to the people in Coal County, but also to the responders," Malone said.
"I'm just excited that we're going to have it here. That we are going to be able to help more people," LIsa Kardokus, a new dispatcher, said.
The new 911 center will dispatch for the Sheriff's Office, the Coalgate Police and Fire Departments and EMS.
Next month, emergency officials ask Coal County residents to be on the lookout for their 911 addresses, which will be mailed out to them by the post office.
"And then they will have a year to comply to change over from their rural route addresses to their permanent 911 addresses," Malone said.
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