CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) — Horry County 911 officially has a new home.

The county’s team of dispatchers began working Tuesday in the new $24 million Randall S. Webster Emergency Operations and Communications Center in Conway.

“We’re excited to begin this new chapter!” Horry County 911 posted on Facebook. “While we may be in a new home, our commitment to providing timely, life-saving emergency assistance to those in need remains unchanged. We’ll be here when you need us.”

The move has been a long time coming. County officials held a grand opening for the two-story, 43,000-square-foot facility in August. It houses the county’s emergency management division and 911 dispatch, which formerly were in the M.L. Brown Public Safety Building in Conway, and is in the same complex as the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

“This is a world-class, first-rate facility, and it’s something that we’ve been wanting for a long time,” Horry County Council Chairman Johnny Gardner said in August.

The 911 center is on the second floor and has enough desks for 34 dispatchers to be online at one time. The previous facility only had room for 16.

Construction on the new facility began late in 2020.

It is named after Randy Webster, Horry County’s director of emergency management with more than 30 years of experience with the county.