Oneida Co. Sheriff’s Office requests $3.5 million for emergency communication upgrades

NEIDA COUNTY – A handful of radio towers went up in Oneida Co. just over ten years ago to improve emergency communications across the Northwoods. The sheriff’s office is now requesting $3.5 million in capital improvement funds to update those systems.

Emergency management says the county’s E911 center needs a sixth dispatch station among a laundry list of other “necessary” changes.

“There’s more cell phones nowadays, people have more access to call 911,” said Lt. Sherri Congleton with the Oneida Co. Sheriff’s Office.

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DC 911 director still claiming a 4 minute dispatch time is good for deadly fire

This is one of those days when I have to question if Rod Serling is not lurking out there and I’ve crossed over into the “Twilight Zone”. I just read in the newspaper of record for the Nation’s Capital that a DC police officer telling a dispatcher there’s a fire at a specific location isn’t enough information to immediately dispatch fire and EMS. Instead of sending the DC Fire & EMS Department right away, the Office of Unified Communications (OUC) needed four-minutes and one-second to process that call. The OUC director, Karima Holmes, told The Washington Post that an internal review shows this call, where two people died, was handled well.

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Emergency services dispatchers honored

CUMBERLAND — As much of the United States observed Patriot Day, a national day to honor victims of the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, local emergency communication dispatchers were honored Tuesday in a separate ceremony to highlight the essential role they play in emergency services.

In October 1986, Congress approved a law designating September 11 as 9-1-1 Emergency Number Day.

In recognition of the emergency number system and the dispatchers dedicated to the critical public service, Allegany County observes the date to honor Joint Communications Center staff.

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911 Board proposes a new service plan to the county

BRANCH COUNTY — The Branch County 911 Central Dispatch Board has approved and sent to the County Commission a proposed new Service Agreement to operate the consolidated emergency communications for all of the counties.

The 911 board has chaffed at the county’s control over salaries for dispatchers which it believes has to lead to the high turnover of newly trained dispatchers and long term employees who left for other positions.

The county’s two-tier hiring program has starting dispatcher salaries at $14.23 an hour compared to $17.22 an hour in Steuben County, Ind. the next lowest in the region. In July the turn over got so great there were five vacancies among the 11 positions which forced overtime and employee burnout.

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Oops is no excuse: You’d be surprised how many 911 calls Dufferin OPP receives in error or by accident

Nearly three-quarters of the time 911 has been dialed in its jurisdiction this year, Dufferin OPP has responded to learn that the call was made in error or by accident.

From January to Aug. 31, Dufferin OPP Const. Shannon Gordanier reports that officers have responded to a total of 413 calls made to 911 — of those calls, police report 307, or 75 per cent, were made in error.

“(This) includes, but is not limited to, accidental dials, children playing with (the) phone, Apple Watches and pocket dials,” Gordanier told The Banner.

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