Official Website for Fayette County, Iowa
911
Contact Information
Officeholder
Fayette County 911 Coordinator
Fayette County 911
220 N. Industrial Parkway
PO Box 518
West Union, IA 52175
Phone
Please call or email for an appointment.
Hours
Monday - Friday
8:00am - 4:00pm
Saturday & Sunday
Closed
Text to 911
Text-to-911 is available in Fayette County and in every county in Iowa. This allows
a cell phone user to contact 9-1-1 using text messaging. If your text is answered in Fayette County, but you are reporting an emergency in another county, Fayette County is capable of text transfer to the appropriate agency.
How Does 911 Work?
When 9-1-1 is dialed from your landline, those three numbers are a code to your telephone company end office to route that call to a PSAP [ Public Safety Answering Point ] so you do not need to dial a 7-digit local number or a 10-digit long distance number to reach assistance.
The call is sent to a selective router which looks at the number and delivers the call to the appropriate Dispatch Center. The equipment at the Dispatch Center sends it to a database to find the name and address associated with the phone number and returns it to the dispatch center to display your name, address and telephone number on their computer.
All this is done prior to the call being answered, so if you dial 911 and the call is not immediately answered, don’t hang up and dial again. If you are calling from a dorm room or office your information may only include the address of the building, not the room number, office number or what floor you are on if your building is multi-level. You will need to be able to provide your exact location to the dispatcher answering the call. If you are calling from a cell phone we are relying on the cell carrier equipment to determine your location. Don’t assume your location will be accurate; you will need to verify where you are and provide that to the Dispatcher.
What Does 911 Cost?
What exactly does my monthly $1 surcharge pay for?
The network to deliver the call to the Public Safety Answering Point [Dispatch Center]
The equipment at the PSAP necessary to receive and manage the 911 calls
The audio logging and archiving recorder
The radio equipment necessary to page and allow the responders to communicate with Dispatch and with each other while responding to the emergency
The mapping software to show where the call is located
The CAD software that manages the call dispatching Address database management for the county
Maintenance on PSAP and radio communications equipment
What has Fayette County done to improve / upgrade equipment for 911?
Purchase a Computer Aided Dispatch system for Oelwein and Fayette County Dispatch Centers to better manage call dispatching, response and records management
Replace base radios for Fire, EMS and Law Enforcement that were out-dated
Upgrade the radio console at the Oelwein and Fayette County Dispatch Centers
Install repeaters to improve paging and radio communications for Fire and EMS
Replaced pagers, portable, mobile and base radios for Fire and EMS
Completed the narrow band requirements
These were accomplished with careful planning and budgeting of the 911 surcharge funds and with assistance of grant funding. Each of these projects has enabled us to significantly improve our 911 service, but it is a continuous balance of maintenance and upgrades to manage a reliable 911 system.
911 Address Signs
Clear all growth from around your 911 address sign. It is the responsibility of the property owner to ensure the address identification marker is visible to emergency services.
Make it a practice as you approach your driveway to look for your 911 marker sign; is it clear from obstruction and can be seen from the road by approaching vehicles from both directions? If your 911 marker is damaged contact the 911 Coordinator at 563-422-6128 or the Secondary Roads Department 563-422-3552 to get it replaced.
The address marker is the responsibility of the property owner and the cost for the replacement sign and installation will be assessed to the property owner.
911 Service Interruptions
Call before you dig to prevent a phone cable being accidentally cut. If a phone line is cut, it can isolate a telephone exchange from 911 service. When this occurs, alternate means for emergency services are implemented. In the instance where phone service outside an exchange is not available, but there is still service within an exchange, an alternate number will be provided for callers within that exchange to use in an emergency.
The number may be to the Fire Station, Ambulance Shed or City Hall. If the interruption is going to be for some time, then we will utilize the National Weather Service to broadcast the appropriate information on the emergency weather radio system and on KNEI radio in Waukon, KDEC radio in Decorah and KOEL radio in Oelwein. So, tune into any of these stations for broadcast of alternate phone numbers as well as notification of when service is restored. If there is no dial tone, there is no way to provide an alternate phone number to 911, but you still should be able to use a cell phone for 911.
False Reports/Obstructions
It is against the law in Iowa to provide false reports to or obstruct 911 communications or other public safety entities. For more details, review Iowa Code Sections 718.6, 727.5, 727.6.
Service Board Membership
A Representive from each of the cities, townships, and county votes on the E911 Service Board. There are currently 22 voting members.
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