GRIMES COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Grimes County's 911 dispatch center, operating with only seven dispatchers, struggles with call delays due to limited staff and high demand, but all calls are eventually answered.
- If local dispatchers are busy, 911 calls are rerouted to neighboring counties, which can delay response times.
- Grimes County's dispatch center has had seven dispatchers since it opened in 2000, despite increasing demands for services.
- Despite understaffing, all 911 calls are answered eventually, and callers are encouraged to stay on the line if they have critical information.
Broadcast script:
Whether it's a fire or a car crash, we sometimes rely on our neighbors to call 911 when we're in danger.
“It just rang. Nobody picked up. It just rang, and it was probably three or four times I hung up, and I probably tried it again, maybe thinking somebody else was on it," said Edward Toliver, who lives down the street from a house in Iola that caught fire a week ago.
"I stopped, there were a couple of other cars that stopped — called 911, didn't get through. Talked to the other people, 'Hey, you guys call 911?' They said 'yes, we can't get through'."
Like good neighbors, Toliver and others were calling 911 for help, but no one was answering.
15ABC spoke with Grimes County Dispatch Supervisor Blane Hechler, who explained that if their dispatchers are already on the line, the calls get rerouted to other departments.
“If we can't answer and Navasota can't answer, it goes to Washington County. And I think if Washington County can't answer, I believe it goes to Brazos County," Hechler said.
"They're going to get somebody — it takes a while sometimes for us to get them with only having two people.”
Even though they were already on the phone with someone at the scene, it’s challenging to run a call center with only two dispatchers per 12-hour shift.
“Right now, we don't have a lot of people interested in dispatching. We post it online, put it in the paper, and list it on Indeed. We don’t get very many applicants," Hechler said.
Currently, Grimes County has seven dispatchers, the same number since the center opened in 2000.
“Not only have we had more deputies added to our force, but there have also been more medics, more fire departments, and more need for those services — so that means more calls for us," Hechler said.
Despite the understaffed call center, Hechler assured that all 911 calls get answered, though it might take a bit longer.
“What I like to tell people is don’t be discouraged by that. If we're doing that, it normally means we're helping them already — and if you have very vital information, by all means, stay on the phone. Somebody will answer, and we will get that information.”
