Two more agencies are now plugged into Walton County’s simultaneous 911 ringing system after the South Walton Fire District and the DeFuniak Springs Police Department formally joined the platform designed to speed up emergency response across the county.

The system routes 911 calls to multiple agencies at the same time based on where a call originates. The Walton County Sheriff’s Office serves as the county’s primary Public Safety Answering Point, meaning all 911 calls first enter through the sheriff’s office. Under the simultaneous ringing model, calls now ring to additional agencies when appropriate, depending on the caller’s location.

The approach is intended to improve situational awareness for responding agencies and reduce delays caused by transferring calls between dispatch centers.

• “By bringing SWFD and DFSPD fully into the simultaneous 911 environment, we’re ensuring that every second counts and that first responders have the information they need as quickly as possible,” Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson said.

Walton County Geographic Information Systems supported the effort by developing new mapping layers used to determine which calls should ring to which agencies.

Dispatchers from all three agencies spent three months testing the system alongside technical partners Motorola and C1, formerly ConvergeOne. The system went live in July, though officials from the involved agencies said they continue to refine processes.

South Walton Fire District Fire Chief Ryan Crawford said the integration required staffing adjustments to handle the anticipated increase in inbound 911 call volume at SWFD.

“We prepared for the increase in our inbound 911 call volume while fostering collaborative operating procedures to reflect ‘Walton County 911’ as a team,” Crawford said. “Ultimately, the agencies involved did the work to make this possible, but the true beneficiaries are the taxpayers who receive critical redundancy in their local 911 system.”

DeFuniak Springs Police Chief James Hurley framed the move as a natural extension of how local agencies already work together.

“We’re a small community, and when someone calls 911, they deserve quick help from folks who know this area and care about the people in it,” Hurley said. “Joining this system means we’re working shoulder to shoulder with our partners across the county to make sure no call gets delayed.”

The sheriff’s office said the system aligns with broader countywide efforts to strengthen public safety infrastructure and provide first responders with more reliable communication tools.