Harford 911 Center Hit By Lightning

HICKORY, MD - As calls were pouring in about emergencies during Friday night's severe thunderstorm, the Harford County 911 dispatch center itself was hit by lightning, officials said.

"A 911 call taker, who was on the line with a 911 caller at the time, felt the shock through her headset," Harford County Director of Emergency Services Edward Hopkins said in a statement. "She was able to complete the call for service but then began feeling the after-effects of the shock. Several other employees also began experiencing symptoms."

Nine employees were taken to the Upper Chesapeake Medical Center for evaluation, and all were released, Hopkins said.

Extra staff reported to the emergency operations center in the 2200 block of Ady Road, which continued to operate, according to a statement the department issued after 7:30 p.m.

"...as we called in additional staffing, those affected by the lightning strike continued to perform their jobs taking 911 calls and dispatching fire, EMS and police to the high volume of calls caused by the storm," Hopkins said. "Despite the strike and the impact to employees, there were no interruptions to service nor delays in our 911 services."

See Also: Lightning, High Water Hit Harford During Storm Friday

Here are the full statements from the Harford County Department of Emergency Services:

Thank you for checking on our employees at the DES.
It appears our building was struck by lightning and we do have several dispatchers being evaluated and transported as a precautionary measure.
We have brought additional staff in and we have continued to maintain operations.
Thank you for your care and concern. It is truly appreciated.
Thanks and be safe too!

Update from Director Hopkins and Thank You

As we posted earlier this evening our DES facility, which houses our 911 call taking and dispatch operations was apparently struck by lightning. When it occurred the effect of the strike was felt throughout the building. A 911 call taker, who was on the line with a 911 caller at the time, felt the shock through her headset. She was able to complete the call for service but then began feeling the after effects of the shock. Several other employees also began experiencing symptoms. Medic units from Harford County’s EMS service and members of the Harford County EMS Foundation responded and began treatment of all of the employees working in the center. As a result, 9 of our employees were taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center for assessment and evaluation. We are happy to report all have been released from the hospital. As an aside, as we called in additional staffing those affected by the lightning strike continued to perform their jobs taking 911 calls and dispatching fire, EMS and police to the high volume of calls caused by the storm. At the same time we had activated our Emergency Operations Center to monitor the storm. Despite the strike and the impact to employees – there were no interruptions to service nor delays in our 911 services.

Thank you to everyone for the outpouring of support from the many 911 centers who called to offer staffing assistance and from our many followers on Facebook who posted their thoughts and prayers for our 911 call takers and Public Safety Dispatchers. Our call takers and public safety dispatchers take their responsibilities very seriously. Your concern for their well-being was overwhelming and we are grateful for your concern. It was deeply appreciated by all of our staff.

File photo by Elizabeth Janney.