Full Notification

The Dare County Sheriff's Office has rolled at a new public service program that encourages visitors to the Outer Banks to know exactly where they are in case of an emergency. Cell phones sometimes share inaccurate or incomplete location data with 911 dispatch, so knowing your street address can make it easier for help to find you.

Assistant Director Lora Nock said the 911 Center handles twice as many calls in the summer months as it does in the off-season.
“If you know Dare County, the lay of the land, we are actually one small long strip on the far eastern coast,” said Nock. “And that long strip, with the amount of tourists and the traffic that we have on the main road, that alone holds up some of the calls trying to get to an emergency as well as trying to find the location. Minutes can make an enormous difference in responding to fires, strokes, and water emergencies.”

Public service announcements are running at area movie theaters and informational pamphlets are being distributed through rental companies to summer rental homes in an effort to remind tourists to be aware of their locations.

The video can be viewed on Dare County's Government You Tube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uat8dOWoXmw