The goal is to switch over 911 capability from the current Bethel Police station to the new building on October 16th. Public Site & Building Commission Chairman Jon Menti updated the Board of Selectmen last week.
He says that switchover is complicated because of the number of people involved. It will take state 911 people, 911 provider AT&T, IT people for the building, Comcast and Frontier all working together. Bethel has phone lines from both companies incase one system goes down. Menti says it's a detailed process, but essentially involves shutting the system off in the old building, removing the equipment and bringing it up the hill to the new station and wiring everything up.
Menti says the process could take four to six hours. All 911 calls will be routed to Danbury during that time. The system is automatically routed there if the system was to ever go down.
One certified police officer dispatcher and another dispatcher from Bethel will be in Danbury during that time in case any calls come in. They'll be able to call patrol cars via radio. Another dispatcher will be standing by at one firehouse in case of fire or EMS call. A fourth dispatcher will be at new station so when the system comes online, someone will be there right away in case a call comes in.
