Police, emergency services have Y2K contingency plans

By MONROE ROARK
Staff Writer

Various law enforcement and emergency services departments in Fayette County are preparing for possible Y2K-related situations over the final days of 1999, but normal activities on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day make it a busier-than-usual time for those departments no matter what the year.

City police and fire departments, the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, and the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services will all have extra staffing for the critical hours around the dawning of the new year in case of an unusual problem.

All leave for FCDFES personnel is cancelled for the week surrounding New Year's Day, beginning Dec. 28 or 29, according to spokesman Capt. Pete Nelms. “All stations and all apparatus will be at full staffing,” he said.

The department has also enlisted the help of several members of its reserve unit, who will be on call in case they are needed. Key staff members also will be on call in case disruptions occur.

“We're beefing up certain areas, but we're not expecting any major disruptions in any type of service,” said Nelms, who also pointed out that the New Year's holiday is typically a busy time for emergency services, no matter what the year.

Of course, the courts will not be operating during the holiday weekend. But Superior Court Clerk Bud Ballard said that his department's systems should be unaffected by the coming of the year 2000.

According to Fayetteville Fire Chief Alan Jones, his department is prepared for some disruptions should they occur, but it is unlikely that a bunch of problems will surface at once. Many Y2K-related failures, if they happen, are expected to unfold over several days, he said, so handling them should be easier than tending to several major events at the same time.

Perhaps the office most obviously dependent upon telephone service and electrical power is the 911 center. They're ready also.

“For the simple reason that it's New Year's Eve, we would have full staffing at the center,” said Fayette County 911 director Cheryl Rogers. “We will have some extra people on hand as well.”

The 911 department has prepared a contingency plan and put it in place to handle any utility-related issues that could arise, Rogers said.

A general tip about using 911 service has surfaced from several of these departments. Many people will be tempted to pick up the phone New Year's Day and dial it just to see if it's working.

This would unnecessarily tie up phone service, authorities say, so it is recommended that residents not use the phones unless there is an actual emergency.

Of course, if a resident dials 911 and simply hangs up, the 911 center immediately knows where the call came from and can take action. So don't make a crank call to 911.