by ECC Editor | Sep 9, 2020 | Articles
There’s little question that the public sector can be slow to change, given the unwieldy nature of bureaucracy and the often limited funding these organizations have. And while that inefficiency often causes little more than frustration among the public it serves, what happens when it’s a matter of life and death?
For as much as technology has changed the world, emergency response remains much the same as it was in our childhood, no matter our age: we dial 9-1-1 and wait for an ambulance or fire truck to arrive. But what if we could communicate with first responders more efficiently, or even provide them more information about the situation before they arrive? READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Sep 6, 2020 | Articles, Opinions
When faced with an emergency, we’re taught to recognize another group of essential unsung heroes: 9-1-1 dispatchers. Every day in over 6,000 public safety call centers in the U.S., 9-1-1 dispatchers are picking up the phone to help people in crisis, some facing their worst nightmares.
Operators are tasked with gathering information that forms the foundation of the response by law enforcement, fire departments and emergency medical services. Remaining patient and calm in what can be incredibly high-stress, high-pressure situations is no small feat…
by AllThingsECC.com | Sep 5, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
By Jason Porter, Senior Vice President, FirstNet Program at AT&T
It has been a week since Hurricane Laura came ashore as a massive Category 4 storm. I was on the ground with our network teams in Louisiana and saw firsthand the terrible conditions left in her wake: trees down, houses destroyed, as well as knocking out power and water to hundreds of thousands. But it is commonly said that we are at our best when Mother Nature does her worst. And Hurricane Laura is just the latest example in a year that has included a nationwide pandemic, wildfires in the west, tornadoes in the east and even a derecho in the Midwest. READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Sep 4, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
Ebony Morgan drives her van through the streets of Eugene, Ore., until she reaches a man curled up on the sidewalk under the eaves of a building. As a crisis worker for the nonprofit CAHOOTS, she was alerted by an emergency dispatcher that the man needed a welfare check.
Unlike in most cities, police weren’t dispatched to respond to the call…
by ECC Editor | Sep 4, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
Emergency responders learned to master indispensable HAZMAT (hazardous materials) skills during a recent on-site training course, the first of its kind at Tobyhanna Army Depot.
Instructors leveraged classroom sessions and practical scenarios to help dozens of employees develop unique workplace skills while attending two certificate programs – Hazardous Materials Technician and Public Safety Telecommunicator (Levels I and II) certification courses… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Sep 4, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
One of the many lessons learned from the Smart Cities movement is that you can achieve significant improvement in community safety and resilience when you use network technologies to facilitate communications and data sharing. Information gets to responders more quickly and comprehensively which leads to more streamlined processes and better decision making in the field.
When walking through a modern Real Time Crime Center (RTCC), it is easy to become fixated on the huge video walls, workstations with elaborate dashboards, and images streaming into the center from cameras across the city…
