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News & Articles
Multi-Agency Communications Center: Emergency dispatch requires a special kind of person (WA)
It takes a special kind of person to be a 911 dispatcher, says Dispatch Supervisor Jennifer Pitt, who has worked at the Multi-Agency Communications Center for about 17 years. “It’s not for the weak-hearted,” Pitt said. “It really takes a special kind of person to do...
Luzerne County 911 overseer relieved new union contract passed | (PA)
Seven months after warning about a brewing staffing crisis, Luzerne County 911 Executive Director Fred Rosencrans is thankful county council has approved a new union contract with higher wages. “I am relieved,” Rosencrans said. “I truly appreciate the county manager...
Bucks County to expand its Emergency Operations Center in Ivyland (PA)
After experiencing the summer of 2021 when Bucks County suffered through tornadoes, flooding and the lasting effects of the pandemic tested, and highlighted the need, for upgrades to the county Emergency Operations Center in Ivyland. Officials broke ground Thursday on...
DC’s 911 operations center back under the microscope with two audits in the works
WASHINGTON (7News) — The D.C. Auditor isn't taking her eye off of the problems and failed leadership at the District's 9-1-1 call center. The 7News I-team has learned there are two follow-up audits in the works on the heels of a scathing investigation of the...
Chris Key Named Public Safety Director For Pittsylvania County, Virginia
After two successful months of serving in the position on an interim basis, Chris Key has been named the full-time Public Safety Director for Pittsylvania County. Key has decades of experience in public safety and fire service management and operations.
State Police Dispatcher Signs Off After 29 Years Working “Hard Gig” (MI)
The average span of an emergency dispatcher’s career is only 3 - 5 years. Carol Keeler retires on Thursday, June 30, with 29 years served with the Michigan State Police and another five with a different agency. The job she has performed for over three decades is...
Rethinking 911 (AZ)
Tucson's mayor and police chief say cities need to take a fresh look at how they respond to emergencies. Speaking in New Orleans Wednesday morning, Mayor Regina Romero referred to the case of Carlos Adrian Ingram Lopez, a Tucson man who died in police custody two...
Greene County dispatcher charged, accused of not sending help for dying woman (PA)
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A Greene County 911 dispatcher accused in a lawsuit of failing to send help for a dying woman is facing charges. Leon Price is charged with involuntary manslaughter, recklessly endangering another person, official oppression and obstructing the...
Recording between dispatcher, firefighters gives new insight into human smuggling tragedy (TX)
SAN ANTONIO - First responders were not ready for what they found Monday night when they opened an abandoned 18-wheeler on the Southwest Side. A recording provided by Broadcastify.com shows the communications between City of San Antonio dispatch and those first...
Manchester selectmen vote to regionalize safety dispatch | News
MANCHESTER — Despite residents voting against the move, Manchester will regionalize its public safety dispatch operations with North Shore Regional 911 Center of Middleton. Selectmen voted 4-1 in favor of the move at a meeting last Tuesday. Selectmen are the ultimate...
Seattle discussing dispatching behavioral health providers, crisis experts to 911 calls (WA)
SEATTLE — In Seattle, the city says it receives about 900,000 emergency 911 calls a year. The high call volume combined with a lack of officers right now has the city looking at alternatives. The city wants to see if community service officers, crisis response...
Rural Arizona utility company facing questions after 911 outage
The internet was out for days, calls were affected, including 911 service. ST JOHNS, Arizona — The Arizona Corporation Commission is having staff draft a list of steps Frontier Communications will need to take to prevent similar outages to one earlier this month in...
Counties in Arkansas slow to tell plans for 911 merger
The Arkansas 911 Board has not received the required plans from any of the state's counties to consolidate 911 operations to comply with a 2019 law, C.J. Engel, executive director of the Arkansas 911 Board, said in an interview. Under the Public Safety Act of 2019,...
When 911 calls require a mental health response – (NC)
As the Durham, North Carolina, Community Safety Department (DCSD) prepares for changes to its computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, it launched four pilot programs that could change how the city responds to emergency calls involving mental health crises.
FirstNet Authority Launches Immersive Virtual Lab for Public Safety Research and Training
The center is designed to help responders and technology designers simulate various scenarios, such as simulations of search and rescue activities or coordinated, complex terrorist attacks. FirstNet Authority Chief Network and Technology Officer Jeffrey Bratcher...
Staff shortfall rises to 67% at N.M. emergency dispatch center – EMS1
SANTA FE, N.M. — Bernard "Buster" Brown inherited a severe staffing shortage at the local 911 dispatch center when he stepped into its top job in November. The New York native, with more than 25 years of experience in emergency dispatch centers, vowed to address the...
911 dispatcher, co-workers, save mans life in Athens (NY)
ATHENS — An off-duty Columbia County 911 dispatcher and three employees at Peckham Industries in Athens are being credited with saving the life of a co-worker after the man experienced a medical emergency on the job. The man was displaying symptoms of a heart-related...
DATAMARK and NGA Partner to Enhance GIS for NG9-1-1 Core Services
Thu, June 23, 2022, 11:10 AM·4 min read Partnership to leverage DATAMARK VEP and additional NG9-1-1 GIS data management solutions SANTA ANA, Calif., June 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DATAMARK, the public safety geographic information systems (GIS) team of Michael Baker...
Carbyne and Orleans Parish Communication District (OPCD) Launch Cloud-Native i3 911 … (LA)
Carbyne APEX enables OPCD to reduce dependence on brick-and-mortar building infrastructure by introducing remote NG9-1-1 call handling, improving readiness for major festivals and natural disasters. NEW ORLEANS, June 24, 2022 -- Carbyne, the leading i3 cloud-native...
Lexington County 911 Communications Center recertified through CALEA® for 5th year (SC)
Lexington, SC 06/24/2022 - The Lexington County 911 Communications Center has been awarded Communications Accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA®). This is the fifth time that Lexington County 911 Communications has...
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#FirstNetInTheNews: Read how @FirstNet’s reliable, secure network is providing the @LeonSheriff and other #Florida public safety agencies with the technology they need to effectively communicate during emergencies and natural disasters (via @abc27). https://www.wtxl.com/community/leon-county-sheriffs-office-unveils-firstnet-first-responders-communication-network
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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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