FAIRHOPE, Ala. - The Fairhope Volunteer Fire department will be deactivating its local emergency hotline July 1 in favor of exclusively 911 dispatches. The old fire line, which has been active during the entire 50-year history of the department, will no longer be used. Instead, all emergency calls will be routed through Baldwin County's 911 dispatch center in Robertsdale. Anyone calling the old fire hotline of 928-2371 will be immediately redirected to 911.

"The main reason is to decrease the response time and get rid of delay," said Fairhope VFD Fire Chief John Saraceno.

He added, "most of our dispatches are already made through 911, but we still get a few calls from the old line."

Alarm monitoring companies may continue to call (251) 947-4911 for alarm activations. The Fairhope VFD's non-emergency number remains (251) 990-0143.