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Stopgap funding bill would grant temporary FCC auction authority, leave NG911 funding in limbo
Stopgap funding legislation that is designed to prevent a federal-government shutdown this weekend includes language extending the FCC’s spectrum-auction authority into December, although the impact on potential funding for next-generation 911 (NG911) deployments...
News & Articles
Hamilton County 911 telecommunicators assist in Florida (TN)
Organizations and agencies in our area are continuing to send crews down to Florida for Hurricane Ian relief efforts. A group of Hamilton County 911 telecommunicators are heading down there. The six telecommunicators from Hamilton County will be joined by 16 others...
Hawkins County ECD deploys dispatchers to Florida | (TN)
A team (TERT) of 911 emergency communications specialist deployed Friday for an operation in Naples, Florida, to help local first responders with answering emergency calls and dispatching resources as Florida continues to recover from Hurricane Ian. Hawkins County ECD...
Rock County’s original dispatcher retires – (WI)
JANESVILLE, Wis. (WMTV) - Rock County 911 Communications Center director Kathy Sukus is set to retire on Tuesday after 29 years working in the public safety response field. Sukus was the first dispatcher hired when the center opened in 1993. Throughout her career, she...
Las Vegas Inaugural FirstNet Users’ Conference a Resounding Success (NV)
PSBTA Vision 2022 conference in Las Vegas brought together first responders, technology experts, and equipment manufacturers READ FULL ARTICLE
Charlotte County sets up temporary 911 lines (FL)
Following the destruction of Hurricane Ian, many telephone lines are down throughout Charlotte County. In order to meet the needs of our residents, the Communications Center has begun utilizing cell phones to take emergency calls. READ FULL ARTICLE
Portland City Council considers pilot program to shorten 9-1-1 wait times (OR)
PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) -The Portland City Council is considering a pilot program designed to help shorten wait times for 9-1-1 calls. According to Commissioner Mingus Mapps, the national standard for 9-1-1 calls is a 15-second wait time at most. In Portland, the current...
911 dispatcher calls 911 for help while delivering baby at home – (MO)
ST. LOUIS (KMOV) - Doctors told Erricka Moorehead that her due date was September 12. But her daughter had a different plan, and Gabriela Marie Cooper was born on August 8 when Moorehead was at home alone.
Hill Makes 911 Call — To 911 (CT)
The city’s director of public safety communications had a message for the Hill South community management team: in an emergency, call 911 — not the personal number of the neighborhood’s top cop. “We did call 911,” responded Meghan Currey, who heads the...
Braintree, Randolph win $4.1 million for regional dispatch center – (MA)
The towns of Braintree and Randolph have received a $4.1 million grant from the state for the development of a regional public safety dispatch center next to town hall. The center would serve Braintree's police and fire departments and the Randolph police. Officials...
Hearing held to discuss fixing 911 call center issues in DC
Hearing held to discuss 911 call center issues in DC A hearing was held on Wednesday to discuss the issues and how to improve the District’s Office of Unified Communications after several issues have been reported with wrong addresses and a slower-than-expected...
Cleveland City Council proposes faster, more reliable 911 system (OH)
A resolution introduced at Monday night's city council meeting proposed the city use a faster, more reliable system called Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG911), saying, in part, it will "provide faster and more reliable emergency assistance by using updated technology to...
Edmonson County Fiscal Court allocates $130K to dispatch center upgrades – (KY)
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Edmonson County Dispatch Center Director, Robin Rigdon, says the center can get anywhere from 35 to 70 calls a day. “Our consoles have reached the maximum capabilities of the radio channels that we can answer for,” Rigdon said.
State integrates 911 communications, data to improve emergency response – (CA)
The California emergency response system is getting a makeover to increase data sharing, automate notifications and integrate mapping.
AT&T readies for Hurricane Ian with ‘arsenal’ of equipment, personnel – (FL)
AT&T said it is standing ready with “an arsenal of disaster response equipment and personnel” as Hurricane Ian approaches. The telecommunications company said it is closely monitoring the storm, which is currently on track to make landfall on Florida’s west coast...
Rehoboth Beach 9-1-1 Communications Center Recertified – (DE)
The City of Rehoboth Beach’s 9-1-1 Communications Center has been recertified as an Accredited Center of Excellence for medical, and police as well as fire dispatch services. Accreditation is valid for a three-year period. Rehoboth’s communications center first...
Orange County names new 911 chief – (NY)
Greg Schmid GOSHEN – An Orange County emergency services employee who began in 2004 as a public safety dispatcher, has been named deputy 911 commissioner.
Orange County EOC prepares for Hurricane Ian – (FL)
It will get much busier at the Orange County EOC in the next 24 hours as Ian gets closer to the sunshine state. Orlando's emergency operations center will also be operating with full staffing beginning Wednesday. Both of the hubs for emergency communications will help...
MPD reports longer response times to 911 emergency calls (MN)
Minneapolis police say it’s taking too long to respond to dangerous and immediate emergencies. Last week, interim Minneapolis Police Chief Amelia Huffman told a City Council committee the average 911 response time for officers citywide is now eight and a half minutes,...
911 call priority system updated in effort to trim police response times – (LA)
Until a few days ago, New Orleans’ 911 emergency dispatch system didn’t make a distinction between a robbery in progress and one that took place weeks ago. But under a change that went into effect this weekend, the system will stop assigning old incidents the same...
3 Weld dispatchers, 1 supervisor receive Lifesaver Awards (CO)
The actions of four Weld County Public Safety employees resulted in four lives saved earlier this year. Weld County Public Safety Dispatchers Emily Schoneman, Cambrie Guerrero-Wacker and Matt Bilyeu, along with Communications Supervisor Ivett Avalos, all received...
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If you work for the federal, state, or local government, or are employed by a non-profit, you may be eligible for the expanded Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness Program. The deadline is October 31st- check your eligibility and find more information: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service
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Opinions
Letter to the Editor: More training for 911 operators (SC)
It is time that we see a change in the number of individuals that survive sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in South Carolina. Currently, there is only about a 12% survival rate for those who experience SCA outside of the hospital setting. With a large...
Unsung heroes (WY)
To the Editor:Can we take a minute to talk about some of our most unsung heroes in our county? I’m referring to our dispatchers, the people who answer our calls when we are having an emergency.
It’s important for our citizens to know how often these people are forgotten as some of our most important heroes in our community. When we call them, it doesn’t matter which town we are from, whether we are in the city or the county. What matters to them is getting us the help we need, as quickly and efficiently as they can. They are our fist line of defense in every situation that comes to them. They have to make the decision of who needs to be notified and sent our way. They have to know what to tell us to do in any emergency that we call them with, how to administer first aid, how to perform CPR, the safest measures to take when there’s been an accident, etc. They must keep us as calm as possible, often in situations that seem like the worst moments of our lives.
Most importantly they are doing all of these things simultaneously. While they are dealing with us they are also monitoring our rescuers’ safety, locations and providing quickest route details. In most cases they don’t ever know the outcome of any given situation. When we hang up with them, we often forget that they have just experienced our trauma with us, but they have to be ready to answer the next call when it comes in. Can most of us imagine what the weight of that might feel like?
After saying all of this, I’m wondering if our two governing bodies, the city council and county commissioners, have given this any thought?
We’ve all heard about communication equipment and whether we should or shouldn’t pay for it. We’ve all heard about the possibility of a joint powers board and should we have one or not. We’ve heard discussion of the possibility of splitting the dispatch center into two different centers.
Have these two governing entities ever talked to the people who matter significantly here? Again, referring to the dispatchers who are doing this extremely difficult job. Are they asking for their input on what they might need, to do their jobs most efficiently? Were any of them ever asked to be on a joint powers board? Have they been asked if they want to split the dispatch center? Have they been asked for any input at all?
Are these governing agencies choosing to make all of these decisions, that affect the public’s safety, without talking to the people who actually do the job?
I believe every city council member and county commissioner should be required to spend a 12-hour shift in the dispatch center watching what these people do to keep us safe. When they do, they should pray that it’s not one of the “bad days” because they might leave there a little scarred. Maybe if we require this of them before they make these important decisions they will realize that these are not just glorified receptionists we are talking about.
These forgotten heroes the dispatchers are in fact the oil and fuel that keeps the rest of the machine running!
RICK MACLEAN: ‘9-1-1. What is the nature of your emergency?’ (Canada)
“9-1-1, what is the nature of your emergency?” I knew who it was before I answered. “This is 9-1-1. Is there an emergency?” But I’m guilty of jumping to the end of this story – emergency? It started much earlier, in the wee hours, around 8:30 a.m., definitely the wee...
If you call in an emergency, try to give useful information (TX)
This year, 2022, already doesn’t seem much different from 2021. We had COVID and still have COVID, and we had lots of traffic and still have lots of traffic. As Hood County grows, so will our growing pains. My office is here to serve all who live in Hood County and...
Open Source: Why has the Knox County 911 line gone down recently? (OH)
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is in response to a reader-submitted question through Open Source, a platform where readers can submit questions to the staff. MOUNT VERNON — The 911 phone line in Knox County has gone down twice in the last few weeks. The reason why? On Nov....
An Open Letter to City Council and the City Manager on Police Encryption. (CA)
We, the undersigned, are writing to express our concern about the recent decision by the Berkeley City Council, the City Manager, and the Berkeley Police Department to use encrypted public safety radio devices in Berkeley. It is our understanding that the City of...
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