By Kirk Brown, Anderson Independent-Mail (South Carolina)
Original publication date: July 5, 2011

ANDERSON, S.C. — Lightning caused “catastrophic damage” Monday at Anderson County’s emergency 911 dispatch center and the cost of repairs may exceed $1 million, an official said Tuesday.

Multiple lightning bolts struck the 911 dispatch center’s two radio towers, said Anderson County emergency services director Taylor Jones. The lightning severely damaged the phone system and knocked out about 80 percent of the radio consoles at the center, which is in downtown Anderson at 213 Towers St., Jones said.

As a result, the 911 system was offline for approximately four minutes before service was restored in an alternate site at the Anderson Regional Airport about 5 p.m. Monday, Jones said.

One dispatcher was treated Monday for a ruptured eardrum, Jones said. Several others sought treatment Tuesday for ringing in their ears.

Jones said all 911 calls will be handled by dispatchers in the county’s backup 911 facility at the airport for the next five or six days while repairs are made to the center on Towers Street.

“There shouldn’t be any differences that the public will notice,” Jones said.

Rusty Burns, the county’s interim administrator, said preliminary insurance claims were filed Tuesday. He also said that county officials are waiting for service technicians to complete a thorough assessment of the damage at the 911 dispatch center.

Burns and Jones both said they hope the cost of repairs at the dispatch center will be covered by insurance payments and grants.

The strong thunderstorm that damaged the 911 dispatch center was also blamed for toppling several trees on the west side of Anderson, officials said.

“The wind ripped the flags right off the flag poles” at the 911 dispatch center, Jones said.

Jones said the problems caused by the lightning strikes would have been far more severe if the county had not invested in an 800 MHz communications system several years ago.

“We would have had zero communication,” Jones said.

When it was purchased in 2007, some critics complained that the $8.5 million communications system was too expensive.

Copyright © 2011 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy