by AllThingsECC.com | May 20, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
In 2019, of all of U.S. states/territories, only twelve require the Emergency Communications Officer (ECO) to meet hiring (character) standards, only twenty-nine require basic training standards, only twenty-three require continuing-education standards, and only twenty-four require use of pre-arrival medical instruction protocols. Furthermore, the federal government misclassifies the profession within its Office and Administrative Support occupational grouping, as opposed to the Protective…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 18, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
Today, Senator Rath called on the Department of Budget (DOB) to release critical funding grants for emergency services. Senator Rath was joined by Assemblyman Steve Hawley, Genesee County Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein, Undersheriff Brad Mazur, Genesee County Director of Emergency Communications Steven Sharpe, Members of the Genesee County Legislature and Members of the 911 Advisory Board.
“The delay in the release of this funding for our communities is extremely damaging. As ranking member on the Senate Local Government’s Committee, I know the extreme duress many of our counties are under as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the State to be delaying the release of this funding, with no end in sight, is completely unacceptable. We need to be working with our counties and local governments, not adding unnecessary burdens. Unfortunately, this seems to be all too typical for our State. I am calling on the Department of Budget to release these grants (2020-21) and inform our counties when they will be able to apply for the current fiscal year’s grants (2021-22),” said Senator Ed Rath…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 18, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–HigherGround, a developer of solution-based software that captures, stores, and retrieves telecommunications, location, and radio data, announced its Live911 technology has reduced response times and saved at least five lives since initial deployments at Police Departments and Sheriff’s Offices across the U.S. in the past five months.
Live911 is a first-ever solution to securely livestream 911 emergency calls directly to authorized officers in the field and provide precise GPS map location of the caller. The technology gives a “head start” for officers monitoring incoming 911 calls within their particular area by eliminating standard delays from dispatching…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 17, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
Photo courtesy of FirstNet Authority
Perhaps the most pervasive lifestyle changer of the past 25 years is the cellphone. Many people seem to be connected if not by the hip, then at least by the thumbs, to these ubiquitous devices. eDispatches leverages them as tools to offer alerting capabilities in addition to their conventional uses. According to a spokesperson, “In recent years, we have added [the features of] availability and response. Responders can set their availability throughout the day before calls occur, so the department can see who is or is not available. Additionally, once a call is dispatched, personnel can identify if they are going to the station, scene or not going on the call.” Real-time tracking enables the incident commander to know the number of firefighters who are available as well as their identities and proximity to the scene. Because cellphones have evolved to combine functionality that formerly was provided by a number of disparate devices—in other words, the smartphone—eDispatches touts not having to carry separate electronics for personal and fire service purposes as a comparable benefit…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 14, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
Axon and RapidSOS recently announced a partnership that will enable 911 centers across the U.S. to have free access to location data, incident alerts and streaming video from Axon devices and share that information with first responders in the field.
RapidSOS CEO and founder Michael Martin said there are three components to the partnership with Axon, the industry leader in body-worn cameras and TASER devices that entered the computer-aided-dispatch (CAD) market last year with the launch of its Axon Respond product.
Through the partnership agreement, Axon will share data with the RapidSOS 911 web portal that is used by more than 2,500 emergency communications centers (ECCs), RapidSOS data will be shared with Axon Respond devices in the field, and Axon’s new CAD platform will have access to all RapidSOS information. The partnership makes sense for both public-safety-focused companies, Martin said…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 14, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
The highly unusual circumstances of the past year have provided many new lessons for political leaders and emergency managers. The overarching lesson is that the unexpected can happen at any time and local, regional and national government must be prepared to respond rapidly in a collaborative manner with the private sector and residents.
Comprehensive emergency management must involve not only timely, effective responses, but also detailed and actionable communication, which includes life-safety information. State-of-the-art technology is playing a critical role in the U.S. and abroad, making it easier for multiple agencies and emergency personnel to work together to respond to and manage dangerous natural disasters, including wildfires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, extreme weather and other critical events…
