by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 28, 2022 | Comm Center News
Norell Mascolo has been a Yale Public Safety Dispatcher since 2007. Norell is the first point of contact for Yale’s emergency and non-emergency calls. It is a unique occupation requiring efficiency, experience, and compassion. Helping individuals during a difficult or painful experience can be a stressful job, but Norell finds joy in its purpose.
Born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, Norell attended Eli Whitney Technical High School in Hamden. Following graduation and a brief stint at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, Norell managed a flower shop for several years and then left to start a family. By the mid-1980s, she returned to the workforce at American Medical Response, Inc. (AMR) in New Haven. It was there that her career in emergency medical services began…
by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 28, 2022 | Comm Center News
“That’s what my job is and if I didn’t take the calls, then I’m not doing my job,” she said. “In my eyes it was a team effort; it’s not just me making that accomplishment. It was all of 911. This is not a one-person job.”
Bell surpassed the 20,000 mark in early December and finished the year with more than 20,400 emergency calls.
She only answers incoming calls at the communications center then routes them to dispatchers who send out the necessary emergency responders. Severe flash floods that hit Cobb County in September and the Atlanta Braves’ run to the World Series, which brought increased crowds and traffic because of Truist Park in Cobb, increased the call volume, according to Bell…
by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 28, 2022 | Comm Center News
The soon-to-be obsolete dispatch system that Somerset County and three police departments use is being replaced, but at a cost of $650,000.
The county has relied on its current system, called IMC Suite, for the last 18 to 20 years, said Michael Smith, director for the Somerset Regional Communications Center and Somerset County Emergency Management Agency.
The system has come under new ownership several times in recent years, which has raised red flags, he said. The current owner, public safety software company CentralSquare, says it will maintain the old platform for the next two years, but new features and upgrades are not expected, he said…
by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 28, 2022 | Comm Center News
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A new high-tech tool will help the Fresno Police Department respond to emergency calls.Fresno police launched the new and improved Computer-Aided Dispatch or “CAD” system at the end of last month.
It was designed over the last four years in partnership with the company AXON.
Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama says the system provides real-time mapping for dispatchers and officers.
They can respond faster with safety in mind, and officers can go to a scene more prepared…
by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 27, 2022 | Comm Center News
TEXARKANA, Ark. — An effort by the Arkansas 911 Board to streamline Public Safety Answering Points, or 911 centers, could leave Miller County in a financial emergency.
The Arkansas side operates two 911 dispatch centers — one at the Miller County Sheriff’s Office on U.S. Highway 71 South and another at Bi-State Justice Center, which primarily fields calls within Texarkana city limits.
Miller County judge’s administrative assistant Carla Jenkins said the centers serve as a back-up to each other. However, the city doesn’t receive Arkansas-based 911 services, since those services are provided by the joint PSAP the city shares with Texarkana, Texas, and Bowie County through the Ark-Tex Council of Governments at Bi-State…
