BROWN COUNTY, Wis. (WBAY) – Help wanted.
It’s beginning to sound like a broken record as nearly every industry struggles to fill job openings.
The people who answer your 911 calls are no exception.
But the longer those jobs stay vacant, the more stress for those who are covering the calls.
And that’s prompting many veteran employees to call it quits…
Perquimans County is replacing aged-out equipment in the 911 emergency communications center.
The county Board of Commissioners approved budget amendments for the project at the board’s regular meeting Nov. 1.
“We are pleased to be able to proceed with this much-needed equipment upgrade in the 911 Center and appreciate the continued support of the county commissioners to provide quality services for our citizens and visitors,” said Jonathan Nixon, director of Perquimans County Emergency Services.
County Manager Frank Heath explained to the board that the funds are for upgrading the radio consoles in the 911 center…
YATES COUNTY — A statement released Nov. 1 by Yates County Sheriff Ron Spike revealed that one of the most valued members of the Sheriff’s Office and her husband have both died from complications of COVID-19.
“It is with deep regret that we announce the passing of Yates County 911 Chief Dispatcher Sandra L. Smith, age 52, who died this afternoon November 1, 2021 at Geneva General Hospital from respiratory failure due to Covid-19 complications. Sandra is a huge part of the Yates County Sheriff’s Office family, and will be greatly mourned and missed by staff and friends… READ MORE
FAIRMONT — Marion County residents can now report an emergency by texting 911 instead of making a phone call.
The Text-to-911 service was first available to a limited number of cities across the country in 2014. Since that time, the service has become more widely available, and software developers have combined other emergency services into an all encompassing platform.
Director of Marion County Department of Homeland Security Chris McIntire worked with Zuercher Technologies LLC, to implement the technology here. The system cost Marion County around $180,000…
The union that represents E-Comm 911-Dispatcher says the emergency services are facing a major staff shortage and warns that the system is ill-prepared for a major crisis.
BC’s emergency communications experts, CUPE Local 8911, said in a statement that people calling e-comm dispatchers should be connected within five seconds or less for an emergency call, 10 seconds or less for a police emergency call, and three minutes or less less for a police non-emergency call.
However, the lack of staff means that the waiting times for police emergency calls in some cases exceed 20 minutes and the waiting times for non-emergencies exceed five hours…
