December 3, 2021
WESTAMPTON, NJ (BURLINGTON) – Burlington County Central Communications operations were temporarily shifted to the County’s backup center in Mount Laurel Thursday evening due to an investigation at Central’s primary site in the Burlington County Public Safety Center. The investigation was launched at around 8:30 PM Thursday after Central Communications telecommunicators reported feeling ill. The Communications Center is in the Public Safety Building at 1 Academy Drive, Westampton, NJ 08060.
Carbon monoxide alarms inside the building did not activate and a fire personnel check of the air was also negative, however, as a precaution the building was evacuated and the Burlington County Health Department was notified.
All Central Communications operations, including 911 service and police, fire and emergency medical dispatch, were transferred to the backup center within the Burlington County Engineering and Highway Department building on Briggs Road in Mount Laurel. Central Communications training was occurring at the backup center at the time so the transfer of operations was completely seamless with no loss of service.
The Mount Laurel center is equipped with all radio and computer equipment needed for 911 calls and dispatching. It was created in 2018 while the County renovated the Central Communications Center space in the Public Safety Center and upgraded its equipment. The backup center also functions as a training location and as an auxiliary dispatching location during major incidents.
The Burlington County Health Department and Burlington County Fire Marshal did a complete investigation into the air quality inside the building and found nothing hazardous or abnormal conditions. A second inspection was performed Friday morning and was also negative for hazards. Central Communications telecommunicators were permitted to return into the building for the morning shift and all operations are functioning normally.
A total of 10 Central Communications employees went to an area hospital for precautionary examinations. None were admitted.
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