About a year into my first term as Pennsylvania governor, our state was slammed by the Blizzard of ‘96. I recall declaring a state of emergency and ordering my fellow Pennsylvanians to stay off the roads. Of course, our first responders were still out in the storm protecting the public.
Twenty-five years later, the emergency isn’t a blinding snowstorm, but a devastating pandemic. And again, it’s our first responders who put themselves in harm’s way.
In police stations, fire houses, ambulances and 911 dispatch centers across the nation, our first responders are working to respond to the needs of their communities and to keep themselves and their families safe from a deadly disease…
The call comes into the police department for a missing person. Sometimes it’s regarding an adult who didn’t show up for work. It might be a teenager who has run away from home. It might be a child who got separated from their parents while on an outing.
Police train for these kinds of missing person cases. But what happens when the missing person has special needs and may be unable to communicate with authorities? …
LEWIS | There is a photo montage in Max Thwait’s office at the Emergency Operations Center here.
Endearingly titled “Max’s First Baby,” the framed photos were a gift for his answer to a call that came into the 9-1-1 center at Lewis several years ago.
A pregnant woman in labor and alone in Long Lake had called for help and he, then an Essex County 9-1-1 dispatcher, helped her calmly and safely through the delivery, even as he sent an ambulance to her location…
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week 2021 is less than two weeks away (Sunday April 11 through Saturday April 17) creating the ideal time to revisit the history of 911 and see where we are today.
Early days of 911
Early discussions for an emergency number originated in 1957 by the National Association of Fire Chiefs. The chiefs recommended a single number a person could call to report a fire. However, other organizations wanted separate numbers for other emergencies. Discussions on national numbers for emergencies continued until 1967…
California 911 centers could have IP-based next-generation 911 (NG911) connectivity deployed throughout the state by the end of this year or early next year, according to an official helping lead the execution of the emergency-calling initiative.
Budge Currier, 911 and emergency-communications branch manager for California, said the state is building its NG911 platform around the i3 standard developed by the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) and that the deployment is a comprehensive one that is scheduled to begin in April…
Learn about current efforts to continue to protect the 4.9 GHz Band for public safety as well as recent filings, key decisions impacting these efforts, and how you can support PSSA’s initiative to protect the 4.9 GHz band for public safety.
