On an average day, Sedgwick County 9-1-1 dispatchers answer 15-hundred calls. But on a New Year's Eve with possibly slick roads, they can expect to take around two-thousand.
"In a 24-hour period with 2000 calls, you're getting a call every few seconds around the clock,” Randy Bargdill, the Director of the county's Emergency Communications, said.
He says that call load is a reason why he's opening-up the center's non-emergency side.
"We're encouraging people to call the non-emergency number, (316) 290-1011 in the event that they want to report a nuisance call, like a loud party or fireworks complaints or things of that nature,” Bargdill said.
This is the second time the center will staff the non-emergency side. The first time was the Fourth of July.
"We didn't have any reports of people on hold or busy signals or anything like that. So it's very successful and we're hoping tonight it's going to also be successful,” Bargdill said.
Four dispatchers will listen to the non-emergency calls. But if tonight proves to be a dangerous mix of too much fun and winter weather... the non-emergency dispatchers can always help-out the other side.
"They're going to be able to log off the non-emergency side and log back into the 911 side and help take phone calls on the emergency side,” Bargdill said.
The non-emergency hotline is open until 3 a.m.
