PHILIPPI -- Barbour County's 911 center is moving June 5 to avoid an emergency of its own.
"We're headed for higher ground," said Chuck Foley, county administrator. "There have already been three or four times that we almost had to move it in the past."
The center is currently located in the basement of the county courthouse, which is in a flood plain. During heavy rains, Foley said the center has come close to flooding out.
The operation will move to an old church county officials purchased for $45,000 three years ago, Foley said. The new site is adjacent to the courthouse but is on higher ground.
Project Impact, a branch of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, provided $16,000 for the relocation.
That money is being used to rewire the new building so it can handle the phones and computers needed to operate the emergency-response equipment.
"It's going to serve the community really well," he said.
Foley said the system will be down for about eight hours during the move. During that time, Barbour County calls will be handled by Harrison County.
Regional editor Nora Edinger can be reached at 626-1447 or by e-mail at nedinger@exponent-telegram.com.
