Jefferson County 911 prepares for worst in early morning ‘Operation Bug Out’ drill
Updated Mar 04, 2021;
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When protests over the death of George Floyd turned into civil unrest in downtown Birmingham last summer, the disturbance moved dangerously close to the city’s emergency response dispatch system.
Those who run the 911 operation systems in Birmingham and Jefferson County were on standby, watching from afar and plotting the next move.
“When they were downtown and moving through the city starting fires, one place they stopped was City Hall,’ said Donnie West, director and CEO of Jefferson County 9-1-1. “They probably did not know that right below them was the main dispatch office.”