DeKalb County’s 911 emergency phone system is expected to be in full operation by December 1991.

A separate contractor is readdressing only the rural areas of DeKalb County, said Jim Laben, chairman of the 911 Emergency Services Telephone Board. Assigning new addresses in the rural district will facilitate quicker responses from the police or fire department in case of emergency.

Most rural addresses officially are recorded as rural route or post office box numbers. Yet this type of address is familiar only to the rural mail carrier who serves these areas, Laben said. A four to five digit number composed of the direction and road will be assigned to give a clearer residential location to emergency personnel, he said.

Laben explained the 911 phone service as a very efficient system. In case of emergency, the individual will only have to dial 911 and the call will be directed to one single data base for DeKalb County.

The caller is not obligated to provide any information because all relevant information, such as their name, address, and servicing emergency centers, will appear on a computer screen. The call is then redirected to one of six answering points within the county, depending on which police district serves them.

Because the readdressing process is “an extensive project and requires a great deal of mapping,” the system will not go into full effect for DeKalb County until the end of 1991, Laben said.