Floyd County looking to fill dispatch vacancies (IN)

NEW ALBANY — Can you handle stressful situations, communicate effectively and multi-task?

If so, and you’re looking for a job, the head of Floyd County emergency dispatch would like a word.

The county is seeking to fill two full-time dispatch positions. The certifications and training needed for the job will be provided by the county, Communications Director Mercades Bierman said.

“Experience is always awesome, but it’s hard to get people with experience in dispatch,” she said…

Connecting Wildland Firefighters with FirstNet

n the early morning hours of July 16, 2020, a fire broke out south of the town Glenwood in Washington state. Over the course of nine days, this fire – named the Bertschi Road Fire(link is external) – burned approximately 250 acres. Located in a rural area in the southern part of the state where cellular connectivity can be sparse and spotty, communications are often a challenge. Thanks to FirstNet, the only nationwide broadband network dedicated to first responders, this was not the case for the firefighters responding to Bertschi Road.

The post Connecting Wildland Firefighters with FirstNet first appeared on All Things FirstNet.

Public Safety Advocate: 2020 in the Mirror, This Year’s Grades

There is no doubt 2020 will go down in history as one of the most difficult years the United States and the rest of the world has faced. However, we made it and the Covid-19 vaccine is on its way for our medical personnel, first responders, and other essential workers. We have been severely challenged on many fronts, and while we lost far too many people, most of us have made it through this tough year. Even so, it will be well into 2021 before we can breathe a sigh of relief…

The weight of a thank you

I received an unexpected thank you from a mentee a few weeks ago – a thoughtful gift and card thanking me for my efforts as her EMT preceptor. That same week and for several weeks prior, I had been feeling burnt out and exhausted from doing too much. I felt unmotivated, uninspired and spread far too thin. Little did she know that her simple gesture of thanks would be enough to reverse a temporary but trying downward spiral.

Several years earlier, a similar situation took place. While considering a resignation from the volunteer agency I’ve loved for most of my adult life, I received a lengthy, hand-written note and flowers from the mother of a young man who had recently taken his own life… READ MORE

NG911 Institute: CAll for Nominations!

The NG911 Institute hosts the Annual 911 Honor Awards Reception to honor the heroes and leaders of the 911 community. The Co-Chairs of the Congressional NextGen 911 Caucus and other Members of Congress and federal government leaders are invited to attend and to present the awards to 911 professionals and government leaders from across the United States… READ MORE

FEMA Partnership Gives IPAWS Emergency Alerts Big Visibility

Rapidly alerting the public to what is about to occur is a key mitigation and readiness strategy of FEMA. It is one of the methods the agency has used since its inception through various radio systems since the days the nation advanced its Civil Defense posture during the Cold War.

Most recently, the Emergency Alert System (1997), which replaced the Emergency Broadcast System (1963), has been replaced with FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS)…