Dallas

Fort Worth Reviews Procedures at 911 Center

The fallout over 911 problems in Dallas has other cities, such as Fort Worth, taking preemptive action.

Dallas officials said Thursday there have been a surge of "abandoned" calls in recent weeks, which has taken resources away from assisting callers with actual emergencies.

Lt. Robin Krouse, commander of the communications division of Fort Worth's 911 Center, says they've been checking their systems and procedures to make sure they're ready in case they receive an onslaught of calls.

Krouse says their 911 system is designed to identify repeat calls from the same number and clear out repeat calls so the system isn't clogged up.

Fort Worth is part of a network of 911 centers called Tarrant County 911.

Krouse says the biggest challenge is finding funding to keep up with technology.

"The vitalness of it is you have to be able to deliver what we promise, and that's helping citizens as quickly as possible whether they need police, fire or ambulance," he said.

Krouse says they've also reviewed logs to see if they've unknowingly experienced a surge of calls at any point in recent months. They say they have not.

Officials in Collin and Denton counties also report they have not experienced similar surges.

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