Unicoi County's 911 dispatch center is experiencing intermittent phone problems, and emergency officials are urging residents across the East Tennessee county to save a backup number in case a 911 call goes unanswered. The Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency issued the public alert around 12:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, directing callers to (423) 743-1850 if their emergency calls don't go through.
Jim Erwin, director of the Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency, reported the intermittent phone problems at the dispatch center, according to WVLT. Residents who dial 911 without getting an answer are being told to hang up immediately and call the designated backup administrative line instead. That backup number is the designated backup administrative line.
Crews Race to Restore Full Service
Technicians are working to resolve the phone issue and plan to restore full reliability to the primary 911 system, the report notes. Emergency officials say they will notify the public once standard 911 service is completely restored. In the meantime, residents are encouraged to share the notice with family and neighbors across Unicoi County, since uninterrupted 911 access is critical during medical, fire, and law enforcement emergencies.
Around 12:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, WBIR reported the same alert from county emergency managers, confirming the timing of the outage notice. The report also directed residents to an alternate number.
A Pattern Across East Tennessee's Shared Phone Lines
A separate Hoodline report cited here described a severed fiber line that knocked out phone and internet service in Tipton County earlier this month. Federal rules that took effect in April 2025 require voice service providers and originating carriers to notify affected 911 call centers within 30 minutes of discovering any outage that could impact call delivery, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
Statewide, the Tennessee Emergency Communications Board operates across all 95 counties and has partnered with FirstNet to give every primary 911 call center wireless backup connections for when landline systems fail, according to the First Responder Network Authority. Even so, local districts remain exposed to hardware glitches and local line disruptions like the one hitting Unicoi County. Local 911 funding is also part of the discussion.
Why Reliable Dispatch Matters Here
Unicoi County spans 186 square miles and is home to an estimated 17,756 residents across nearly 7,800 households, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The county's primary ambulance service, Unicoi County Emergency Medical Services, operates 24/7 and is a joint venture formed in 2020 by the county along with the Town of Erwin and the Town of Unicoi. The stakes of reliable emergency communication were laid bare during Hurricane Helene in September 2024, when floodwaters destroyed the county hospital in Erwin and forced helicopters to rescue 70 people from the roof and rushing water, as reported by CBS News.
For now, Unicoi County residents are being asked to keep the backup number handy and to pass the word along to neighbors while technicians work to restore the primary system. Officials say an update will follow once it is.
