by ECC Editor | Mar 15, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week is just around the corner (April 11-17, 2021). We are thankful for the day-in-day-out hard work, professionalism and dedication of all 911 telecommunicators.
According to APCO’s NPSTW website, National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week is a week set aside to honor 911 telecommunicators. The website states: “Every year during the second week of April, the telecommunications personnel in the public safety community, are honored. This week-long event, initially set up in 1981 by Patricia Anderson of the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office in California, is a time to celebrate and thank those who dedicate their lives to serving the public. It is a week that should be set aside so everyone can be made aware of their hard work and dedication… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 13, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
If you’re anywhere in the United States, you’re probably aware dialing 9-1-1 connects you to local public safety answering points (PSAPs) that can deploy nearby emergency services. But in some places in the US, cell phone users can also contact emergency dispatchers via SMS text message.
It’s important to note that this function isn’t available everywhere. In most of America, texting 911 will result in a bounce-back message encouraging the sender to make a voice call instead, according to the Federal Communications Commission’s 911.gov site…
by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 12, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
When first responders enter a building during an emergency, there aren’t too many factors more important than that they’re able to hear one another as they make their way through the property. Uninterrupted communication between first responders could literally be the difference between life and death in a lot of emergency situations.
Advanced RF Technologies (ADRF), a pure-play Distributed Antenna System (DAS) and Emergency Responder Radio Communications Systems (ERRCS) provider understands the importance of flawless first responder communication…
by ECC Editor | Mar 11, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
A 911 dispatch looks about the same no matter where you are in the U.S.: sirens, strobe lights atop police cruisers, and first responders armed with guns and pepper spray, the reason for the call notwithstanding. But if you dial 911 in Denver, you might be greeted instead by a mental-health clinician and a paramedic driving a customized van equipped with food, water, and blankets. For the past six months, the city’s Support Team Assisted Response program, known as STAR, has been dispatching social workers instead of cops on nonemergency calls, with astoundingly good outcomes… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 11, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
It has been a while since I heard people claiming FirstNet (Built with AT&T) will replace Land Mobile Radio (LMR) systems. I had thought by now most of us, including elected officials who hold the purse strings, would understand there is value in having both LMR and FirstNet.
FirstNet reports that the network is about 90% complete, more than a year ahead of schedule and double the number of first responders on the network. Still, there is a need for LMR systems and, just as important, there is a need for FirstNet and LMR to be able to work together to augment each other on a daily basis and during incidents. Public-safety community vendors, LMR, and FirstNet are working toward better ways to provide Push-To-Talk (PTT) across LMR and FirstNet for commonality of voice communications…
by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 11, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is testing a tool that could make it easier for the public-safety community to prototype cutting-edge analytics on streaming video.
The Analytics Container Environment (ACE), being developed to support NIST’s Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Division, provides a modular framework for running containerized analytics on streaming video. Essentially, it could be used to detect footage of erupting fires, fights or other emergencies that demand swift public-safety response…
