Public Safety Answering Points: The Backbone of Emergency Communications

by | Apr 18, 2025 | Comm Center News

By Jennifer McIntyre, 9-1-1/Emergency Communications Subject Matter Expert, First Responder Network Authority

When a person calls 9-1-1 to report an emergency, they rely on Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) to answer the call every time, without fail. They expect that the call will reach someone who can quickly and efficiently send help to the right place. Lives depend on emergency telecommunicators being there, ready to take the call. 

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Klobuchar, Budd Introduce Resolution Announcing “National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week”

by | Apr 18, 2025 | Comm Center News

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Ted Budd (R-NC), co-chairs of the Next Generation 911 Caucus, introduced a bipartisan resolution designating April 13-19 as “National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week” to recognize 9-1-1 dispatchers for their dedication and service as first responders to emergencies across the country. A companion resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representatives Norma J. Torres (D-CA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).

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The Unseen Heroes: Celebrating Our 911 Telecommunicators

by | Apr 16, 2025 | Comm Center News

By  Zenji Nakazawa | Acting Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau

Could you talk a distraught parent through delivering their baby and clamping the umbilical cord?  What about guiding a lost, elderly person battling dementia and paranoia, along with her six-year-old grandson, out of the woods to safety?  Now, imagine doing all of this over the phone, where every decision can mean the difference between life and death.  This is just a glimpse into the extraordinary challenges our nation’s dedicated 911 telecommunicators face on any given workday.

During this year’s National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, I want to take a moment to recognize and celebrate our incredible 911 telecommunicators across the nation.

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New center highlights critical role of Calif. EMS dispatchers

by | Apr 14, 2025 | Comm Center News

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — If you’re lucky enough to get a tour of Hall Ambulance’s new dispatch center in downtown Bakersfield, keep an eye on seven-year veteran dispatcher Julianne Solano.

Emergency calls that would likely raise the blood pressure and heart rate in the best of us show Solano speaking clearly, accurately, with care and empathy — and with no sign of even a tremor in her voice.

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