Customer stories
“Communication in public safety, fire districts, police — it’s everything. How much faster we can respond to a call that comes into 911, thirty seconds can make the difference. Every second counts.” — Trisha Flaherty, Administrative Assistant
Before Community Phone, the Sonoita-Elgin Fire District ran on a landline and an old-fashioned answering machine. Messages could sit unheard, or worse get erased entirely, sometimes for up to two weeks before anyone saw them. In a rural district where a missed call isn’t just an inconvenience, it put both firefighters and the community they serve at real risk.
“Being in a rural community, communication interruptions are more likely, and it puts our firefighters at risk, and it puts our community at risk if systems aren’t working the way they’re supposed to.”
— Mark Meredith, Fire Chief
When Trisha started researching alternatives, Community Phone’s app stood out immediately. It’s a system that ties calls and messages together in one place. The district kept its existing number, which mattered more than almost anything else: for a fire district a rural community has called for years, changing that number was never really an option. The community counted on that consistency.
“What Community Phone offered was an app on the phone, and other things that tied into a phone. And I thought to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s a full communication loop.’”
— Trisha
Seeing every inbound, outbound, and missed call in real time through the app, by email, and even on her computer, Trisha feels more in control of her time and her job. When a message comes in, she can respond within minutes instead of days. During power outages, Community Phone keeps the district connected for up to twenty-four hours, something the old landline never could.
“If there were a power outage, Community Phone will extend service for up to twenty-four hours. A landline doesn’t offer anything like that. If your power goes out, you’re done.”
— Trisha
The switch didn’t just solve a reliability problem. It solved a budget problem too. Compared with its old landline and a roughly $650 monthly bill, Community Phone costs the district less. For a fire district, every dollar helps. Now, instead of overspending on their landline, the savings can go toward training firefighters or equipping them for the job ahead.
“With Community Phone, we have the possibility of using the savings from your service to put our firefighters through advanced training and acquire equipment that we otherwise couldn’t have.”
— Fire Chief Meredith
Calls and messages all in one place, in real time.
No disruption for a community that depends on reaching them.
Their old landline went dark the moment the power did.
“We’re out here, and it’s rural. There are more cattle than there are people. And when there’s an emergency, our community completely comes together. It’s everything to us to be able to respond to people and let them know it’s okay. The fact that we can have effective communication helps our community and elevates the level of help. You can see it means a lot.”
— Trisha
Community Phone works across all 50 states — and we’re adding coverage every week. Check what’s available at your address in a few seconds.