On March 25, 2016 as of approximately 10:15 AM, the Kingsport Emergency Communications Center is back running on normal A.E.P. power. All computer, radio, and phone systems have been restored and appear to be functioning properly. As a precaution, technicians will temporarily continue to keep a backup parallel 9-1-1 station on line just in case. Again, the Kingsport Emergency Communications Center apologizes for and regrets any inconvenience or alarm this may have caused.
As previously released:
On March 25, 2016 at approximately 5:45 AM, Downtown Kingsport experienced a major power outage, which at the time of this release remains in effect. Shortly thereafter, the computer, radio, and phone systems at the Kingsport Emergency Communications Center failed to automatically switch over to backup generator power as designed, which caused those systems to temporarily shut down.
Fortunately, additional fail safes are in place in preparation for these circumstances, and 9-1-1 calls are still being answered. 9-1-1 calls were automatically re-routed to Sullivan County Dispatch, and Kingsport 9-1-1 immediately activated a backup 9-1-1 station. Technicians are currently in the process of getting the primary systems at the Kingsport Emergency Communications Center back operational.
During the transition, the possibility exists that there may have been a brief window of time where a small number of 9-1-1 calls may have been unanswered or delayed, and the Kingsport Emergency Communications Center apologizes for and regrets any inconvenience or alarm this may have caused.
In the extremely rare event that someone is unable to reach Kingsport 9-1-1 due to circumstances such as this, citizens are encouraged to call any of the Kingsport Fire Stations directly to report their emergency. Again, these numbers should only be utilized to report emergencies in the unlikely event that 9-1-1 is out of service. The phone numbers for the eight Kingsport Fire Stations are listed below:
Station 1 (Downtown Kingsport): 423-229-9441
Station 2 (Fort Henry Drive): 423-229-9442
Station 3 (Memorial Boulevard): 423-229-9443
Station 4 (West Stone Drive): 423-229-9445
Station 5 (Lynn Garden Drive): 423-224-2443
Station 6 (Colonial Heights): 423-239-1110
Station 7 (Rock Springs Road): 423-349-5337
Station 8 (East Stone Drive): 423-343-9738 |