Answering The Call
Tennessee 911 Telecommunicators Deploy to North CarolinaWith fireworks, food, and fun on the summer schedule for many, AAA expected nearly 1.5 million Tennesseans to take a road trip during the July 4th week.
Tonalea Boone was one of those Tennesseans on the road, heading east to North Carolina for a different reason.
“When I heard that Buncombe County 911 had lost one of their own unexpectedly, I didn’t hesitate,” said Boone, a Supervisor with the Williamson County Department of Emergency Communications.
Boone was one of 10 members of the Tennessee Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce (TN TERT) who deployed to Buncombe County, North Carolina on July 4, 2025, following the passing of one of the county’s dispatchers. Dispatchers from Unicoi, Hamilton, Hawkins, and Williamson counties helped staff the Buncombe County Public Safety Communications Center, working 12-hour shifts to allow local staff the opportunity to regroup, attend memorial services, and recover from the loss.
“As dispatchers, we’re all part of this unseen support system, and when one center is grieving, it hits close to home for all of us,” said Boone. “I wanted to be there, not just to answer calls, but to let their team know they weren’t alone. Sometimes just showing up speaks volumes.”
Taylor Johnson, a Database and Records Specialist for Williamson County Department of Emergency Communications, joined Boone for the mission, the first deployment for her as a representative from Williamson County.
"While it's one thing to serve the community locally, it's an entirely different feeling to be able to not only serve a center in need but also get to serve a community we otherwise wouldn't have had the chance to,” said Johnson. “It helps keep things in perspective and truly remember why we do the jobs we do.”
The TERT program is a vital resource that allows states to develop and deploy teams of experienced dispatchers to assist communications centers in times of crisis. The teams are specifically trained to provide comprehensive support to agencies
overwhelmed by disasters or critical incidents, ensuring the public safety communications continue to operate efficiently.
The deployment was coordinated through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, the nation’s state-to-state mutual aid agreement. In recent years, Tennessee holds the record for deploying the most personnel and resources
through the EMAC, with first responders and trained emergency management professionals from the Volunteer State completing 18 missions to six states in 2024.
With the mission now complete, both Boone and Johnson reflected on the experience with mixed emotions - gratitude for the chance to serve, but also a lingering heaviness for what their fellow dispatchers continue to carry.
“Their team was going through something no one should have to face while still doing the job,” said Boone. “Knowing we were able to give them even a little space to grieve means everything. It reminded me why we do this - to show up for each other when it really counts.”
Following this deployment to North Carolina, TEMA coordinated with the Memphis Fire Department to deploy a Canine Search Team - Human Remains Detection (CST-HRD) team to Kerr County, Texas, to support the response to catastropic flooding to the region. You can learn more about the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) here.