Stray Mylar Balloon KOd Fire Dispatch Lines; No Calls Lost
Emergency fire dispatch service for seven Orange County cities was out briefly over the weekend after a Mylar balloon shorted electrical lines near Anaheim, fire officials said Tuesday.
Metro Net was down from 6:20 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, said Jean Ferrell, communications manager. During that time, calls were switched from Metro Net’s Anaheim dispatch center to the Orange County Fire Authority center in Orange.
No calls were lost, Ferrell said, because 911 calls are first taken by police, then routed to fire agencies. Also, Metro Net sent half a dozen dispatchers to the fire authority station, where they worked until Metro Net service was restored.
Metro Net, the dispatch service for Metro Cities Fire Authority, serves Anaheim, Garden Grove, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Orange.
Ferrell said the weekend incident was the only one she could recall in which the dispatch center had lost power.
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