LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — When the green light is on inside the Luzerne County 911 Center in Hanover Township, dispatchers get help on the way.
"We are one of the busier counties in the state; we are in the top 15 every year. We take approximately 1,100 calls every day," said Luzerne County 911 Deputy Director Bill Ives.
The 911 center works hand in hand with the county emergency management for all types of situations. Now, the county is eyeing plans to merge the two agencies into one department.
"If there is an emergency that affects the entire county, this will really provide better services for county residents," said Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo.
Luzerne County is one of only three counties in the state with separate 911 and emergency management agencies. County leaders say the goal of the merger is to not only to help increase response times but also be more efficient.
"We will be able to save money, and that's part of the goal, county-wide, that we streamline departments to be more efficient," said Crocamo.
"In emergency situations, time is everything; that could be additional lives saved if you could cut out time on communication," said Gregory Kurtz, division head of operational services.
The move is something the county has considered for a while. Now it is up to county council to make it a reality. Gregory Kurtz oversees the two departments; he says combining resources just makes sense.
"911 has a much larger staff, so there is some more resources there, and EMA has a lot of equipment that could help with scenarios that need to be dealt with, so merging that together there are training opportunities and the option to cross train," explained Kurtz.
The proposed changes will go in front of county council later this month to move the process forward.