CLEVELAND (WJW) – The FOX 8 I-Team has uncovered how the Cleveland 911 system broke down on a busy night when one caller waited on hold for 30 minutes.
We’re also asking, could it happen again?
Weeks ago, the I-Team revealed a woman called 911 on July 4 in Cleveland and spent a half-hour on hold. Now, records show 600 emergency calls not answered at all and short staffing in dispatch…
The City of Kilgore has entered into an agreement to upgrade their existing public safety communications infrastructure to improve their coverage area and keep up with changing technologies.
Support Lt. Terry Linder, of Kilgore Police Department and the city’s Emergency Response Manager, explained the issue at a July 27 council meeting.
“Over the last several years, the state and federal focus has been moving public safety communications from VHF and UHF radio frequencies to the 700 and 800 megahertz band. Part of that is due to telecom companies upgrading to 5G technologies and auctioning off those frequency waves,” Linder said…
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Emergency dispatch managers and area firefighters, law enforcement and emergency medical officials can start planning the future of emergency communication in Jasper County after Tuesday’s election, which saw a resounding vote in favor of a sales tax increase.
Voters approved an increase in the sales tax that supports the Jasper County 911 dispatch system from one-tenth of a percent to one-quarter of a percent by a margin of almost 3-to-1.
The vote was 2,921 “yes” votes and 1,110 “no” votes…
Across the nation, there is a 911 dispatcher shortage. Our local call centers are no exception.
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Florida — Across the nation, 911 call centers are dealing with staffing shortages.
According to the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), 911 dispatch departments are seeing a 15 to 20 percent rate of staff turnover.
It’s an issue seen at local departments just the same. In Pasco County, the EMA director said they’re currently hiring for 15 dispatchers. To make matters worse, the number of applicants has dramatically dropped…
Portland’s Bureau of Emergency Communications, which fields 911 and non-emergency calls in the city, disciplined three employees in connection with the leaking of information that falsely implicated Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty in a March 3 hit-and-run crash.
BOEC says it concluded its investigation into the leaks less than a week ago—on July 29. (BOEC’s investigation is separate from the Portland Police Bureau’s internal affairs investigation into the matter, which is still ongoing.)
All told, BOEC disciplined three employees in connection with the investigation: one on April 17, another on July 14 and a third on July 29. “Our investigation found there was no external leak that came from BOEC,” says bureau spokesman Dan Douthit…
