By Elizabeth Piazza
The Farmington Daily Times
RED MESA, Colo. — Red Mesa, Colo. Colorado officials are hoping a new cellular tower approved Tuesday by the La Plata County, Colo., Planning Commission, will improve emergency response in the remote areas of New Mexico 170.
“The problem we have in that area is really a lack of appropriate infrastructure for cell phones,” Fort Lewis Mesa Fire Chief Steve Ebner said. “It has become a public safety issue.”
The push to erect a tower, which is intended to improve cell phone coverage and help appropriately route emergency calls to dispatchers, was resurrected following a 2009 car accident that killed a Farmington woman.
Patricia Jacquez, 26, died Sept. 24 after her vehicle went off a 45-foot embankment near the New Mexico-Colorado state line. About 20 minutes elapsed between the initial 911 call to the time emergency responders were dispatched.
Officials cite confusion over the location of the accident, poor cell phone coverage and incorrect routing to the wrong dispatch center as factors in the delay.
The issue arose again last month after 911 calls were incorrectly routed to San Juan County dispatchers following a house fire in Kline, Colo.
“Because of the routing issues and transfers of information, we had a 19-minute delay in our response,” Ebner said of the fire.
No one was injured, but the delay led to a new focus on the problem.
“It sounds to me like it will be a huge improvement to 911 coverage in that area, which helps with emergency response,” said Phil Campbell, communication director at the Durango La Plata Emergency Communications Center.
The cell tower that picks up a call often determines which 911 center the call is routed to, Campbell previously said.
People who need 911 assistance in the area often drive to the general store, TBR Service, in Red Mesa, Colo., to make the call because of poor connections, Serena Mills, an employee at the store, previously said.
Emergency response officials have recognized for years there was a problem in the area.
“There were some access issues that had to be worked out between Alltel and some property owners and unfortunately those issues do take time, but those issues have been resolved and we can move forward,” Ebner said.
Officials first contacted Alltel, the company that will own the tower, in 2008. The need for better service was brought to the forefront after Paula Jacquez-Cunningham, Patricia’s mother, brought the issue to Colorado officials after her daughter’s death.
“With technology the way it is, there should be no area that is out of range,” Jacquez-Cunningham said after her daughter’s death.
The next step is to secure building permits for the tower. Ebner anticipated service in six to eight weeks, he said.
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