911 Officials Wonder Why Ala. Calls Were Bounced HUNTSVILLE, AL (APR - Alabama Public Radio ) - Emergency officials say that as storms raked Alabama on April 27, the Huntsville-Madison County 911 Center was slammed with emergency calls from distant counties, including some south of Birmingham.

Officlals are trying to determine how emergency calls from Blount, Cullman, Jefferson and Tuscaloosa counties wound up in Madison County. They say the likely answer is that cell towers elsewhere were overloaded.

Ernie Blair, chief executive officer of the 911 Center for Huntsville-Madison County, says call takers can quickly transfer stray calls to the appropriate 911 center or public safety agency. He says calls from bordering counties are handled routinely, but officials don't know why calls from distant counties were directed to the Huntsville-Madison County 911 Center.

He says a meeting is planned with wireless carriers to correct the problem.

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