Doug Edmonds just
recently passed away. He was truly a pioneer and giant in our industry and will
be missed by many of us. Over the years Doug was always there to support and be
part of this great industry with his knowledge, wisdom, humor and kind heart. Here
is a little about Doug but it doesn’t truly represent nor do full justice to
all he gave to this industry
Douglas F. Edmonds, ENP, age 79, an APCO Presidential Award winner, the 2010 NENA Stanton Award recipient and NENA Hall of Fame member died September 12, 2019, from complications after a lengthy illness. Doug was a former Johnson County, Iowa Sheriff’s Office executive before assuming the duties of Executive Director at Northwest Central Dispatch in Arlington Heights, IL, which at that time was the largest consolidated dispatch center in Illinois. He served Northwest Central from 1986 until his retirement in 2005. An active participant of both IL APCO and IL NENA, Doug served both organizations in various capacities including officer positions with both. Doug received a plethora of awards and was recognized as the PSAP Director of the Year in Illinois several times. Doug held a Master Degree in Public Administration from the University of Iowa and was a Graduate of the FBI National Academy. He was a frequent speaker at State and National NENA and APCO conferences. Additionally, he was an original member of the National Joint TERT Initiative (APCO and NENA) and later served as the NENA Co-Chair of the NJTI for six years. Managing NJTI, the first joint project of NENA and APCO, his professional devotion to TERT grew the program from three States to over fifteen States that had FEMA recognized TERT Teams. A humble man, who avoided the limelight, Doug believed in mentoring subordinates throughout his public safety career and many rose through the ranks to become PSAP Directors.
He loved his trips to Singapore and
Thailand which he visited often. On one
such trip he presented to Singapore Civil Defense authorities the rationale for
EMD pre arrival instructions which they subsequently adopted. Doug loved a good
story, had a wonderful sense of humor, a warm smile and a gentle demeanor.
In response to Lynne Bayley’s viewpoint last week, I believe the residents of Huron County should hear my response. My name is Tacy Bond and I am the 9-1-1 coordinator for Huron County. I started on Jan. 1, 2018. I worked as a telecommunicator for Norwalk Police Department for 18 years and left there after 20 years to begin this endeavor.
Ms. Bayley asks why nothing has been addressed over the last several
years and that is incorrect. The previous EMA director was responsible
for both EMA and 9-1-1, the ever- changing technology of 9-1-1 demands a
full-time position and it was unfair to expect him to handle both jobs.
He did the best he could in the situation and always informed every one
of the upcoming changes. He dealt with the same funding issues I am
dealing with as the state has not increased the wireless surcharge fee.
The talk of a levy has been discussed for the last 5+ years and was
continually passed over because no one wants to raise taxes.
MCLEAN, Va. — The Monitoring Association
has begun issuing TMA Certificates of Verification to qualifying alarm
companies to support review of eligibility for FirstNet services.
In April, TMA reached an agreement with AT&T
to provide qualified alarm companies with a TMA Certificate of
Verification that will enable them to apply for eligibility to use
FirstNet services for alarm transport communications.
TMA will be issuing certificates to those companies that meet accepted alarm industry standards that result in the transmission of public safety-related alarms from ….
A 911 dispatcher was able to talk a couple through a nerve-wracking situation. Missy Piche answered a call at 8:34 am.
Calling 911 was a panicked Ryan Howell, whose wife, Devinne, was in labor.
Devinne
had called Ryan to let him know she was in labor. He rushed home from
work, but by the time those 20 minutes had passed, things had progressed
considerably. The couple knew they wouldn’t have time to make it to the
hospital before their baby arrived. Thankfully, Missy was there to
coach them through.
“She (Devinne) was at first on the toilet and I say, ‘You got to ….
(Editors Note: This is posted under the category of “you just can’t make this stuff up”.)
Tina
Springer purportedly was shot by the golden Lab when she and the older
gentleman she serves as an aide to were waiting for a train to pass in
Enid.
Officials believe the dog bounded from the vehicle’s backseat onto the console, causing a gun to discharge. The bullet lodged into the victim’s left thigh, according to cops who believe cloth from the seat covers might have gotten wedged into the firearm’s trigger well, causing it to fire.
The incredulous emergency official can be heard asking, “The dog shot her?” to which Parks replied, “Yeah.”
Princeton, NJ, October 3, 2019: IXP Corporation—a prominent national
public safety managed services company—has entered into a consulting
contract with York County to reorganize and improve the training,
management structure, and operational processes of the county’s vital
911 center.
“This new project underscores our expertise in transforming 911 centers into high performance organizations,” says William E. Metro, Chairman and CEO of IXP Corporation. “Through a series of ….
Learn about current efforts to continue to protect the 4.9 GHz Band for public safety as well as recent filings, key decisions impacting these efforts, and how you can support PSSA’s initiative to protect the 4.9 GHz band for public safety.
