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WELLSBURG -- Ongoing efforts to improve Brooke County's emergency 911 center and kudos received by emergency personnel for two recent incidents were the focus of Tuesday's Brooke County Commission meeting.
Brooke County Sheriff Larry Palmer said he's learned a backup power supply for the call center will need replaced following two recent outages there.
Sheriff's Deputy Darin Pizer, who oversees the center, said the supply is a battery that keeps the center's computers functioning for about two minutes until a backup generator kicks in.
Palmer said a recent outage crashed the center's computer-aided dispatch system, which identifies a call's source, for about 10 minutes until it could be rebooted.
He said in long-term outages, which also disable land-line phone service, 911 calls made in Brooke County are diverted to the Hancock County 911 center, which returns them to Brooke via a temporary cell phone.
Palmer told the commissioners he's brought in electricians to evaluate electrical upgrades needed in the building.
In related business, the commissioners received letters from Buckeye Local school officials, and Bob Fowler, the county's emergency management and ambulance director; applauding the efforts of local emergency personnel to two incidents.
Andy Nickerson, deputy emergency management director, said about five Brooke County ambulance squads responded to an April 20 accident involving a Buckeye Local school bus on state Route 88 near West Liberty.
More than 20 Buckeye Local football players were on their way to visit a West Liberty University football practice when the bus veered off the road and into a tree.
Nickerson said the county's mass care trailer was used for the first time outside of drills. He said the trailer is equipped with various medical supplies, from bandages to oxygen, to treat up to 50 people at a time.
"It's one of those things you hope you'll never use, but it worked out quite well," he said, adding, "Fortunately, no one was critically injured."
Two area hospitals confirmed 26 passengers of the bus were treated by their staff.
In a letter to the Brooke County EMA, Scott Celestin, interim superintendent of Buckeye Local Schools, said "The administration, staff, students and the entire Buckeye Local community owe you a debt of gratitude! The first responders of Ohio/Brooke county did an excellent job that unfortunate night on April 20. They took a potentially disastrous situation and handled it with care and precision. From directing traffic, to coordinating E squads, to triaging students, all did an amazing job!"
Fowler also submitted a letter praising his staff, volunteer firefighters from the Windsor Heights, Beech Bottom and West Liberty departments for their response to a fire at a dog kennel on Windsor Heights a few hours earlier that day.
He said no dogs were in the kennel, and the blaze was quickly extinguished.
Fowler applauded emergency 911 dispatchers Christina Alexander, Jessica Wright and Adam Eckersberg for their "notable job at pulling resources together" and ensuring sufficient personnel were at the scene of the fire.
He added response to the bus accident required "an enormous amount of radio traffic as well as the responsibility of maintaining the status on all responding units. To add to this already stressful time, there were several 911 calls that came in to the center for our own county."
Fowler said the dispatchers ensured all callers received the care they needed.
"It is our opinion this incident could not have been handled in a more professional and organized manner than it was," he said.
In other business, the commissioners:
• Expressed sadness over the death of Phoebe McMullen, who dedicated time to many causes. McMullen, who was 87 when she died on April 27, served as executive director of the local chapter of the American Red Cross; president of the Wellsburg park board, which raised funds for the city's swimming pool; Girl Scouts troop leader and member of the Wellsburg Civic League and Wellsburg Garden Club.
• Approved the hiring of John Eckersberg, a retired sheriff's deputy, as part-time chief security officer for the county courthouse at the request of Palmer, who said the move would require no change to his budget.
Palmer said he plans to employ part-time security guards from the courthouse and magistrate court at the Progressive Bank building as bailiffs when possible to allow sheriff's deputies to spend more time on the roads. He said the guards already are certified to use firearms and will receive additional training in defense to prepare them for that role.
• Approved the hiring of Zack Ferrari and Katlin Layman as part-time ambulance staff.
(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)