County’s 911 system most advanced in the state
A deer hunter fell from his stand. He called 911 but couldn’t tell us where he was because he was disoriented by the fall. He just knew he needed help.
Thanks to Webster County’s new GEOCOMM system, help could be quickly dispatched to the coordinates his cell phone registered.
“We could tell exactly where he was and were able to send help immediately,” said Webster County 911 Director Jimmy McLemore.
GEOCOMM, the latest in satellite mapping programming and information, has put Webster County’s 911 system at the top of the quick-response list in Mississippi.
“No one else in Mississippi had applied for the upgrade and we worked out a deal with GEOCOMM to get it. It has been a tremendous boost for our technology,” McLemore explained.
The software system shows the exact location of the caller. It gives GPS coordinates as well as addresses, so if an address is not visibly posted the first responders don’t waste valuable time searching for it. The GPS coordinates pinpoint it. Those minutes can mean the difference in life and death.
And that’s not where McLemore’s group stops improving.
“We take advantage of every upgrade, training or otherwise that is offered so we can provide the best service to Webster County,” he said.
The GEOCOMM Mapping Program is touch-screen sensitive, so a responder can zoom in to see what the structure or area they are responding to looks like.
The Webster County 911 Center is located on the old Wood College campus in Mathiston. It has four full-time employees and six part-time employees. McLemore brings 27 years of police service to the position, giving him a platform of law enforcement from which to lead the service.
