‘Our hearts are aching in here’: Colville dispatch center serves critical role in fighting wildfires like Oregon Road, Gray fires (WA)

While the Oregon Road and Gray fires were ripping through Spokane County, a team of dispatchers in Colville were coordinating air and ground resources to the blazes.

The Northeast Washington Interagency Communications Center dispatches state and federal agencies, including Washington State Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, to wildfires burning in the 10 northeastern Washington counties.

READ FULL ARTICLE

Carrollton and Neighboring Cities Introduce Livestream 911 Calls (TX)

The minutes a 911 caller spends on the phone with an operator are often filled with frenzy and uncertainty. Attempts to describe an emergency can easily leave out key details that would help first responders know exactly what they’re responding to. A handful of North Texas cities have introduced new technological elements to their 911 service designed to make their emergency responses more specialized, efficient and effective.