Delaware County Emergency Communication Center

I. Incident Overview

In the early morning hours of August 13, 2026, the Sampson Tower site failed after taking on water during the catastrophic flooding event that impacted Muncie and Delaware County.

Following the incident, I reviewed the recorded communications and telephone calls associated with the event as it unfolded. The following provides a summary of the information communicated during the incident, the resulting impact on emergency communications, and the current and anticipated steps being taken to restore and improve system capabilities.

II. Incident Timeline and Communications

At approximately 2:55 a.m., Ball State Dispatch contacted DCECC and advised that they had lost their radios and would notify their Captain. The dispatcher conducted a radio test on the Muncie Police Department (MPD) channel, and the test was successful at that time.

Radio Technician Bruce Dunn then contacted the DCECC 911 Officer in Charge (OIC) and advised that he was en route to the Sampson Tower site. He had received an alarm from Motorola indicating that the tower site was in alarm mode. Based on the information available to him, he believed the site was flooded and that the system would most likely lose the site. He advised that the loss could affect radios as well as toning and paging capabilities. He further reiterated that if water had entered the building, paging capabilities would be lost.

The OIC subsequently notified the following personnel and agencies:

• Delaware County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) supervisor
• Delaware County Emergency Medical Services (DCEMS) supervisor
• Lt. Peters of the Muncie Police Department
• Muncie Fire Department Battalion Chief
• Deputy Director of 911