Linn County Undersheriff Paul Timm reports the 911 Dispatch Center is still receiving 911 calls during the reported CenturyLink phone service outage. Those with an emergency are still urged to call 911.
The outage has impacted the transfer of 911 calls from the dispatch center to other outside agencies. This includes police departments in Lebanon, Sweet Home and Albany, or other fire departments outside of Linn County’s dispatch service, primarily in the Lyons and Mill City area.
911 dispatchers are usually able to directly connect the call to these other agencies, making this an immediate transfer of the caller to the correct agency. Until the outage is fixed, the 911 dispatchers will have to call the other agencies separately to give them the information about the emergency, rather than an immediate transfer of the call. This may cause a slight delay in the transfer of 911 calls to agencies outside of our dispatch service.
Timm said the Linn County Sheriff’s Office will add additional staffing, if necessary, to assist in the transfer of emergency calls. Again, callers with an emergency situation should still call 911.