Pend Oreille County Launches ‘Enhanced’ 911 Dispatching

Pend Oreille County this week went from having no countywide 911 emergency dispatching to having the new “enhanced” system that pinpoints the location of callers.

JoAnn Boggs, county emergency services director, said Pend Oreille is the first county in the state to make such an abrupt transition, bypassing the regular 911 system that most counties use.

In the past, she said, 911 service was limited to the north end of the county, where calls were answered by volunteers. Now, calls will automatically be routed directly to the appropriate dispatching center.