by ECC Editor | Jun 3, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
Many measures implemented initially in reaction to demands associated with the COVID-19 pandemic likely will become long-term components of public-safety communications, particularly in the 911 arena, public-safety representatives said during a recent webinar.
Mel Maier, captain of the emergency communications and operations division of the Oakland County (Mich.) Sheriff’s Office, said the COVID-19 situation has illuminated the need for interoperability between public-safety answering points (PSAPs) that allows for efficient transfers of information and resources… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 3, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
Download PDFIntroduction: Emergency dispatchers report significant job stress, yet few controlled investigations examine their specific psychological complaints. Additionally, research examining the use of interventions directed at alleviating their work-related stress is limited.
Results: Twenty-three percent (23%) of the sample (n = 27) met criteria for PTSD. Engagement with PTSD Coach over a one-month period resulted in statistically significant decreases in PTSD symptom severity and other psychological indicators…
by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 2, 2020 | Articles
The Federal Communications Commission and the US Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have sent a joint letter urging the country’s governors and the mayor of Washington, DC, to take steps to ensure that Americans remain connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. The joint letter underscores the importance that communications services are playing during the pandemic by enabling Americans’ access to key components of daily life, including telehealth, telework and distance learning…
by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 1, 2020 | Articles
When you mention the numbers 9-1-1, people immediately think of quickly reporting an emergency or of the response system that’s involved. The term itself has entered our vocabulary as a synonym for speed.
If you ask the same people to describe where they believe that their 9-1-1 call is answered, some would envision talking directly to those who would come to their aid, and others would see the 9-1-1 center for what it typically is—a room that’s…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 28, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
Recently, there has been a flurry of articles in the press, on Twitter, and on LinkedIn touting the advantages of Push-To-Talk over Broadband (PTT over LTE) and stressing that PTT over broadband is ready for primetime, which appears to be true with a few caveats. It is also true that multiple FirstNet-Certified broadband PTT applications are available, including three that currently interoperate with each other. However, there is no requirement for all PTT solutions to interoperate with one another, therefore it is unlikely we will see complete inter-vendor interoperability anytime soon…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 28, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
Throughout the night on March 2-3, 2020, a supercell thunderstorm traveled through the middle of Tennessee, producing several violent tornadoes that wrecked multiple buildings and took several lives. Shortly after midnight on March 3, an EF-3 tornado with winds up to 165 miles per hour carved a path over 50 miles long through Nashville, severely damaging the local airport. As the supercell moved east, an EF-4 tornado touched down near Putnam County, producing winds up to 175 miles per hour – the strongest tornado the nation has seen in nearly three years…
The EF-4 tornado destroyed over 100 structures, including part of a local public safety radio tower. With this critical component damaged, responders turned to FirstNet to communicate and carry out damage assessment. READ MORE
