Amarillo residents soon will have a much friendlier emergency service to call when they’re in trouble.

By “friendlier,” I mean simpler. One-stop calling will get you to your emergency responder, instead of the current system that requires the caller to be transferred to as many as three numbers before getting to the right responder. The person who is stressing out over a potentially life-threatening emergency doesn’t need to repeat himself or herself to different dispatchers.

The Amarillo Emergency Communications Center will be online soon at the old Atmos Energy office at 8th and Pierce. The city and the Potter-Randall 911 office are mighty proud of this new center, and with good reason. Officials unveiled the new call center this afternoon.

Mayor Debra McCartt and other officials noted time and again today that callers should see a dramatic reduction in the response time to their emergencies once the system becomes operational. Plans call for the system to go online the week of Oct. 26.

And for the individual in distress — whether they have a medical, police or fire emergency — that is the best news possible.