Rock County, Wis., 911 Dispatchers Can Now Track Cellphones (WI)

(TNS) — Emergency dispatch operators in Rock County, Wis., have a new tool that allows them to track 911 callers faster and more accurately than ever before.

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The service is free to registered 911 centers from RapidSOS Clearinghouse, a company formed by former Federal Communications Commission commissioners… READ MORE

Expansion plans advance for New Orleans’ 911 center (LA)

The Orleans Parish Communication District has agreed to negotiate a contract with a local architecture company to design an expansion of the Chief Warren E. McDaniels Sr. 911 Center. 

The OPCD Board of Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution allowing OPCD executive director Tyrell Morris to negotiate with VergesRome to expand the facility at 118 City Park Ave.

In March, the board authorized a concept and feasibility study … READ MORE

Cincinnati Making Progress On Emergency Communications Staffing (OH)

Cincinnati officials say they’ve shaved five weeks off the time it takes to hire call takers and dispatchers for the city’s emergency communications center (ECC). But the process from someone applying to actually getting a job still takes 14 weeks.  It used to be 19 weeks.

Right now the center is 20 people short. That includes vacancies for three supervisors, 10 dispatchers and seven 911 call takers.  But that’s better than last year… READ MORE

What happens when someone in St. Paul calls 911? (MN)

Every time Ramsey County dispatch telecommunicator Amber Guettler answers a 911 call, she expects to hear about a crisis, the voices high with emotion. From that difficult call, Guettler has to get as much information as possible.

“It typically is very calm in here. It’s very important for us just for working here, and keeping ourselves calm,” Guettler said. “But it’s very important for us to stay calm for our callers as well.”

What the callers don’t know is… READ MORE

911 calls for help as dispatcher staff shrinks (WY)

Sheriff warns county is one dispatcher away from not being able to answer all calls.

Teton County’s communications center has half the dispatchers it needs to adequately answer emergency calls and that means trouble.

“We are one person away from not being able to answer 911 calls 24/7,” Sheriff Matt Carr told county commissioners Tuesday morning. “This is a crisis.”

The 911 dispatch center is considered fully staffed…

Cook County dispatcher coaches father through on-road birth (MN)

COOK COUNTY, Minn. (KBJR) – A Cook County dispatcher can add something new to her resume: helping deliver a baby.

According to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and Public Safety Facebook page, the sheriff’s office received a call around 1:41 a.m. Tuesday of a woman in labor who might not arrive to the hospital in time to deliver her baby.

Sheriff’s officials say Dispatcher Darcy Ziller was very calm as she stayed on the line with the father…