Walton County Expands Simultaneous 911 Ringing System to SWFD and DeFuniak Springs Police
When a Freeport resident dials 911, the call first lands at the Walton County Sheriff’s Office — the county’s primary Public Safety Answer Point — and a new expansion announced Monday means it will now ring to multiple agencies at once, depending on where the call comes from.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday that the South Walton Fire District and the DeFuniak Springs Police Department are joining the county’s simultaneous 911 ringing system, a move the agency says will enhance emergency response coordination and improve service for the county’s citizens and visitors — including Freeport, which sits squarely in the county’s dispatch coverage north of Choctawhatchee Bay.
The system routes emergency calls to multiple agencies at the same time based on where the call originated. All 911 calls in Walton County enter through WCSO as the county’s primary PSAP; with the expansion, calls will now ring to the other agencies simultaneously when appropriate, rather than being transferred one at a time between dispatch centers. WCSO said the approach will improve situational awareness for responding agencies and cut the delays caused by transferring calls.
“The project represents a significant step in modernizing emergency communications in Walton County,” said Sheriff Michael Adkinson. “By bringing SWFD and DFSPD fully into the simultaneous 911 environment, we’re ensuring that every second counts and that first responders have the information they need as quickly as possible.”
The system behind the announcement took shape over the summer. Walton County Geographic Information Systems developed the new mapping layers that determine which calls ring to which agencies, and dispatchers from all three agencies spent three months testing the system alongside technical partners Motorola and C1, formerly ConvergeOne. The simultaneous ringing setup went live in July, and officials from all the involved agencies continue to refine processes to maximize efficiency and coordination.
“Developing this system included careful planning and forecasting to bolster Emergency Communications staffing levels specifically in South Walton Fire District’s jurisdiction,” said SWFD Fire Chief Ryan Crawford. “We prepared for the increase in our inbound 911 call volume while fostering collaborative operating procedures to reflect ‘Walton County 911’ as a team. Ultimately, the agencies involved did the work to make this possible, but the true beneficiaries are the taxpayers who receive critical redundancy in their local 911 system.”
Fire and EMS service north of the bay — where Freeport and its State Highway 20 corridor sit — is handled by Walton County Fire Rescue, and faster handoffs between agencies mean faster help for that side of the county.
For Freeport residents, the practical effect is straightforward: the dispatcher who answers a 911 call can now pull the closest fire, police, and EMS resources into the same conversation at once instead of relaying information agency to agency. DeFuniak Springs Police Chief James Hurley said joining the system means partner agencies are working “shoulder-to-shoulder” so no call gets delayed — a benefit that applies to every call that starts in Freeport city limits just as much as anywhere else in the county.
Originally reported by the Walton County Sheriff’s Office. Additional reporting by WMBB / MyPanhandle. Featured image: WMBB / MyPanhandle. Dispatcher photo: Walton County Sheriff’s Office.
