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In 3 years, NYC’s text-to-911 has seen over 2 million text messages (NY)
A text-to-911 service New York City launched in June 2020 has been helped emergency officials respond to more than 100,000 unique incidents. READ FULL ARTICLE
Court Rules That Inflammatory Social Media Posts by a Public Employee (Dispatcher) Are Not Protected (PA)
Vallecorsa v. Allegheny Cty., No. 2:19-CV-1495-NR, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 206720, at *2 (W.D. Pa. Nov. 15, 2022). United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania holds that Allegheny County (“County”) did not violate former employee’s First...
Dispatcher recalls tragic 911 calls of fallen Scott County deputy (KY)
GEORGETOWN, Ky. (FOX 56) — A Scott County 911 dispatcher who was on the job the night deputy Caleb Conley was shot and killed recalled the emotions surrounding it. She and her co-workers took dozens of calls about the shooting in a matter of minutes.
City of Atlanta Awards Multi-Year Contract to Carbyne and Goes Live with New System to … (GA)
With Carbyne's advanced emergency collaboration platform, Atlanta will be able to deliver faster, more accurate emergency response and ultimately save lives NEW YORK, May 31, 2023 - Carbyne, the leading provider of cloud-native public safety communications, today...
Greenbrier County Commission considers new retirement package for 911 dispatchers (WV)
LEWISBURG, W.Va. (WVDN) – The Greenbrier County Commission held a regular meeting on May 23, where they were presented with a proposal for a new retirement package for 911 dispatchers by Dean Meadows, director of the 911 state commission.
Wyandotte dispatcher calms hysterical mom, walks her through CPR to save submerged son (MI)
At 1:16 p.m. on May 12, right in the midst of a potentially fatal crisis, Wyandotte Deputy Police Chief Archie Hamilton said the stars aligned and nothing short of a miracle occurred.
Ripon Police expands its dispatch center (CA)
If there’s something happening in the South County, there’s a good chance that the City of Ripon is involved in it somehow. As the official dispatcher for the cities of Ripon, Escalon, and Lathrop, Ripon has worked to expand it’s dispatching capabilities to help...
Arlington County Emergency Communications Center Expands Call Capacity (VA)
The Arlington County Emergency Communications Center (ECC) will launch Amazon Connect to handle non-emergency calls starting June 1, 2023. This cloud-based service allows anyone to contact the County quickly and easily for non-emergency issues using the non-emergency...
Leominster’s emergency dispatch comes under one roof with new location (MA))
LEOMINSTER — Starting Thursday, dispatch for the city’s police, fire and EMS will all be under the same roof. Located at 210 Lancaster St., the public got a look at the new Joint E911 Dispatch Center during an open house on Tuesday. Previously, police and fire were in...
House committee unanimously passes bill to provide $14.8 billion in NG911 funding (D.C.)
House Energy & Commerce Committee members unanimously advanced a bill that would reauthorize the FCC’s authority to conduct spectrum auctions for three years and provide $14.8 billion to transition the nation’s 911 center from legacy technologies to an IP-based,...
Washoe is getting a new emergency dispatch system. Here’s what we know (NV)
A new dispatch system is on the horizon for Washoe County, Reno, Sparks and REMSA. It’s intended to send emergency help more efficiently. Plus, the current system is about to become obsolete because the company that makes it is no longer maintaining it.
Sarasota County’s 911 Center upgrades improve emergency response (FL)
The Sarasota County Public Safety Communications Center (PSCC) is one of few agencies across the nation implementing new technology to reduce response time
Livingston Parish first to use new emergency dispatcher technology (LA)
LIVINGSTON PARISH, LA. (BRPROUD) — The Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office is the first in Louisiana to use a new dispatcher tool, Next Generation 911 technology. A digital, internet protocol (IP)-based system, known as Next Generation 911 is set to replace the analog...
WestComm executive director awarded State 911 Leader of the Year (MA)
CHICOPEE — WestComm Regional Dispatch Executive Director Erin Hastings was awarded State 911 Leader of the Year. The award comes from the Massachusetts State 911 Department and Massachusetts Communications Supervisors Association.
13 Investigates: 911 call takers ‘overworked’ while responding to crisis calls (TX)
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Julio Ariciaga is among the first people Houstonians talk to when they call 911 for an emergency. For nearly two years, he's worked as a call taker at the Houston Emergency Center. He said during a typical busy shift, he answers more than 100...
DOCJT announces graduates of Public Safety Dispatch Academy Class 149 (KY)
On May 12, Gov. Andy Beshear and the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT) announced that 24 dispatchers from across the state graduated from the Public Safety Dispatch Academy and are now ready to begin answering the call to provide assistance and...
911 call-taker earns statewide award for helping Richmond resident through 37-minute ordeal (VA)
Ashley Marlow has been honored for helping a 911 caller cope with an armed man on her front porch in Richmond. READ FULL ARTICLE
Nurse Navigator program to relieve clogged 911 lines in Oneida County – Utica Observer Dispatch (NY)
Oneida County will soon start a Nurse Navigator program, which will allow the county’s 911 center to transfer non-emergency calls directly to a nurse.
City of Davis considers allowing dispatchers to give medical advice to callers (CA)
City of Davis may make big changes among dispatchers DAVIS — A big change could be coming to 911 calls in Davis. For the first time, dispatchers on those calls could be allowed to give medical advice to callers in distress.
REMSA Health’s Regional Emergency Communications Center Achieves Eighth (NV)
At REMSA Health, we believe that when someone dials 9-1-1 for a medical emergency, their care starts with the call. Therefore, the medical dispatchers on the other end of the line are highly-trained and clinically-certified care providers. In our commitment to...
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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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