County 911 to receive calls from 167th Air Wing under new MOU approved

The Berkeley County Commission approved a memorandum of understanding that formalizes how emergency calls from the 167th Air Wing will be handled.

Jennifer Swisher, director of emergency communications, told commissioners the wing discontinued its internal dispatch and calls will now come directly to the county 911 center. The MOU commits the county to dispatch appropriate apparatus and to notify the wing’s command center after dispatching to the base.

"So it'll come directly to us," Swisher said, explaining the wing had stopped staffing its control point and that some cellular-origin calls were already being routed to county dispatch. Commissioners moved to approve the MOU and granted the president authority to sign the agreement; the motion passed by voice vote.

Swisher said base calls for fire would likely result in dispatch of the base fire department, often along with other local departments; the wing does not maintain EMS on base. The MOU is intended to clarify operations and ensure timely notifications between county dispatch and the wing's command center.