CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. -- The frantic moments in an emergency situation can be scary for everyone involved. For the safety of your family, you need to be able to rely on emergency services. In Charlotte County, law enforcement is implementing a new emergency response system Tuesday, designed to provide potential victims with more comfort as they reach out to police.
This new Airbus Vesta 911 telephone system, as it's being called by the Charlotte County Sheriffs Office, went into place Tuesday morning at 6 AM. Among its many features will be the ability to text your emergency to 911.
Both the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office and Punta Gorda Police Department now have a new telephone system that has new hardware and software for 29 work stations. The software provides improved features for call takers at the police department and sheriff's office. They'll also receive a new telephone reporting system that's expected to improve the overall efficiency and accuracy of how calls are managed. And their new ECATS telephone reporting system will make it easier for managers to get real time and historical data when needed from any location.
Now during this time of transition, if callers have any problems getting through the regular 911 system, they are asked to use the following alternative numbers: (941) 875-8742 or (941) 875-8747.
Officials are not expecting any issues with the transition, but technology sometimes has a mind of its own.
UPDATE (2:45 PM) -- The switchover to the new 911 system has been successful, and the alternative numbers above are no longer available.
