On Tuesday, a battery backup failure disrupted 911 services in Monroe County, Tennessee, as reported by Monroe County Emergency Services. The 911 center, which relies on Fort Loudon Electric, battery backups, and a generator for power, automatically switches to battery backup during power outages to keep equipment running.

However, CO2 monitors triggered an alarm, and a smell in the center prompted a response from the Madisonville Fire Department, which discovered a toxic leak and overheating in at least two backup batteries. Director April White explained that the 911 lines were immediately rerouted to McMinn and Loudon Counties as part of their contingency plan. The defective battery, which was rapidly increasing in temperature without an alarm, was quickly identified and removed following the fire department’s assessment.

The center emphasized that the issue was unforeseeable, caused by a problem with the battery itself, and assured the public that emergency communications are designed to be instantly rerouted to other agencies in such situations to ensure continued service.