Heavy rain shuts down Lumpkin County 9-1-1

DAHLONEGA - Rain and computer equipment don't mix...and Lumpkin County EMS Director Don Seabolt discovered that first-hand early Wednesday morning.

Seabolt said the system went down around 3:30 a.m. and the heavy rainfall Tuesday night and Wednesday morning is to blame. He noted that about 3.25 inches of rain had fallen at the 9-1-1 center and water had puddled on the roof of the building.

"[Water] ran down the inside of the wall and got into the telephone switch in my equipment room," said Seabolt.

It took until almost noon Wednesday for the system to become fully operational.

Emergency calls for Lumpkin County were routed to Dawson County while the system was being repaired. Seabolt noted that his office might have missed a few cell phone calls during the onset of the problem, but he did not believe any emergency calls were missed.