Marion County's new 9-1-1 Center is nearing completion.

Construction on the facility is complete, now crews are in the process of installing state of the art computers, radio and telephone equipment needed to get this telecommunications hub up and running.

Many 9-1-1 Centers are underground in order to ensure emergency communications remain intact in case of a tornado or other natural disaster.

This new facility is built above ground using an insulated concrete method.

That makes the facility tornado and earthquake proof and allows dispatchers to see daylight and current weather conditions.

But perhaps most impressive at first glance is the space dispatchers will now have.

Just to get an idea of just how much larger this facility is, picture this. The current 9-1-1 dispatch center in the basement of the Hannibal Police department could fit in just half of the current dispatch room.

But more important to county residents is the lifesaving technology this facility brings along with it. In early 20-10, Marion County will have Phase two enhanced 9-1-1 which means dispatcher will be able to track emergency calls from cell phones.

What will this mean for the area?

Telecommunicator John Lewis said, "It will be tremendous because we're on several major thoroughfares in the area with U.S. 61 and 36. People are traveling through the area and if they have a medical emergency or an accident and they don't know where they are, right now we can't locate them. So its like you have to ask 20 questions in order to figure out where they are so you can get emergency help. It's frustrating when someone doesn't know where they area and need help and you want to help and you can't."

John Lewis is a Dispatcher with Marion County 911. He says this technology could make the difference between life and death when seconds count.

Technology could improve even more in the coming years.

The 911 Center is currently preparing for Next Generation 9-1-1 would allow dispatchers to locate a caller using a phone through an internet connection.

Dispatchers will move into the new facility sometime in November.