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In 1986, the political leaders of Knoxville and Knox County formed the Knox County Emergency Communications District, or Knox 911. It was a well-thought-out vision and has undoubtedly saved many lives in our community.

Jerald Jenkins dispatches KPD officers from the Knox County Emergency Communications Center on Jan. 23, 2015.

Knox 911 is a stand-alone entity whose mission is to answer and dispatch all emergency calls in our community. We provide dispatch services to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Knoxville Police Department, Knoxville Fire Department and Karns Fire Department. Any medical calls received in our center are transferred to American Medical Response for them to dispatch emergency medical responders to our citizens. AMR also provides dispatch functions for Rural/Metro Fire Department, Seymour Fire Department and Knox County Rescue. All of these services are located in our call center…