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Miscommunication at Clinton County’s Communication Center

CLINTON COUNTY — The White family’s home on Dry Run Road near Lamar is destroyed. Their belongings charred after the mobile home caught fire early S...

CLINTON COUNTY -- The White family's home on Dry Run Road near Lamar is destroyed. Their belongings charred after the mobile home caught fire early Sunday morning.

"Probably within a half hour when I was here it started engulfing the back end of the house," said Kathy Duck from Walker Township.

Kathy Duck knows the family. Sunday morning, she smelled smoke from her home down the road.

"It was well over 45 minutes to an hour before the first fire truck came whenever we got here,” said Duck.

The family who lives in Centre County called 911, but was connected with Clinton County's communication center.

With everyone out safe, the family waited outside.

"I thought they were on their way because they had said they called," said Duck.

Instead, emergency crews were sent to Dry Run Road in Bald Eagle Township near Mill Hall. It's in a completely different county from where that call actually came from.

"Our computer system says okay here it is on our map. This is where you need to go. In this case, it gave us the wrong information," said Joel Long, Clinton County Commissioner.

Clinton County Commissioners met with Kevin Flanning, the director of Clinton County emergency services to review if that 911 call should have been sent to Centre County and why the caller ID on the land line number directed the 911 center to the wrong county.

"With our master street address guide to tell us where addresses are unfortunately things like this do happen," said Kevin Flanning.

Back in Walker Township, Duck says it's not the first time,that Dry Run Road in Centre County has been mixed up with Dry Run Road in Clinton County.

"It's horrible because things like this happen and it could have been completely different," said Duck.

911's director says the call is under review to try to prevent any more address mix-ups in the future.

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