A new 911 dispatch center in now under construction in Washington County.
Police, firefighters, and emergency responders were all there to celebrate the groundbreaking in Hillsboro Thursday afternoon.
The center will feature technology to boost communication flow, allowing first-responders to react even quicker.
It’s even being built to withstand a major earthquake.
“If a seismic event happens, we know there will be a need for services, and if communication breaks down, we can’t talk to each other, we can’t send responders out, we can’t coordinate with each other. It’s critical to be able to do our business as usual, in the event of something of that magnitude,” said Kelly Dutra, executive director of the Washington County Consolidated Communications Agency. “This facility is designed to withstand that.”