OTTAWA COUNTY — For those who work as 911 operators, it’s
not a matter of if they’re going to hear something traumatic, but when.
“Not
everybody can do this job,” said Megan Ross, who works as a dispatcher
for Ottawa County. “Some people can, some people can’t, and there’s no
middle ground. When we pick up the phone, we don’t know what we’re going
to get.”
Ross has spent the last 16 years working for
Ottawa County Central Dispatch, acting as the very first responder in
countless emergencies. She said when you’re taking hundreds of calls a
day like that, resilience is the key to being good at the job.
But
about eight years ago, Ross responded to a call where an officer was
killed in the line of duty, and that affected her in ways she had never
planned for.
“It tore me up,” she said. “I went into a
real nasty time. I was never suicidal, but I went into a real bad space
where I was questioning everything I did on
BY DEVIN DELY, HOLLAND SENTINEL, MICH. / AUGUST 2, 2019
(TNS) — For those who work as 911 operators, it’s not a matter of if they’re going to hear something traumatic, but when.
“Not everybody can do this job,” said Megan Ross, who works as a dispatcher for Ottawa County. “Some people can, some people can’t, and there’s no middle ground. When we pick up the phone, we don’t know what we’re going to get.”
Ross has spent the last 16 years working for Ottawa County Central Dispatch, acting as the very first responder in countless emergencies. She said when you’re taking hundreds of calls a day like that, resilience is the key to being good at the job.
But about eight years ago, Ross responded to a call where an officer was killed in the line of duty, and that affected her in ways she had never planned for.
“It tore me up,” she said. “I went into a real nasty time. I was never suicidal, but I went into a real bad space where I was questioning everything I did on the job. It was a constant fear of something happening again, and it was a terrifying place to be in.”
About five years after the incident, Ross sat down with her boss to discuss her experience.
The FCC adopted rules to help ensure that people who call 9-1-1 from multi-line telephone systems (MLTS) — which commonly serve hotels, office buildings, and campuses — can reach 9-1-1 and be quickly located by first responders. The new rules will also improve emergency response for people who call 9-1-1 from other calling platforms.
The policy implements two laws enacted last year that are designed to strengthen emergency calling. Kari’s Law, requires MLTS equipment to enable users to dial 9-1-1 directly, without having to dial a prefix such as a “9” to reach an outside line. Kari’s Law also requires MTLS to provide notification, such as to a front desk or security office, when a 9-1-1 call is made in order to facilitate building entry by first responders.
Second, Section 506 of RAY BAUM’S Act requires the FCC to consider adopting rules to ensure that “dispatchable location” information, such as the street address, floor level and room number of a 9-1-1 caller, is conveyed with 9-1-1 calls, regardless of the technological platform used, so that first responders can be quickly dispatched to the caller’s location. The new rules apply dispatchable location requirements to MLTS, fixed telephone service, interconnected VoIP services, Telecommunications Relay Services and mobile texting services. Mobile wireless services are already required to provide either dispatchable or coordinate-based location information with 9-1-1 calls.
In addition, the commission consolidated its 9-1-1 rules from multiple rule parts into a single rule part, making it easier for stakeholders, such as service providers and emergency management officials, to more easily ascertain 9-1-1 requirements.
FCC Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks approved the rules in part and dissented in part. Rosenworcel said the MLTS rules don’t go far enough because they don’t require businesses already operating a MLTS to change their systems. The rules kick in for MLTS equipment beginning in February 2020.
“So I dissent in part because we do not adopt any requirements for enterprises to inform callers about the 9-1-1 limits of their phone systems, because we do not provide any guidance about when upgrades to existing phone systems will trigger the rules we adopt today, and because we exempt the embedded base of millions of MLTS from complying with location requirements,” she said.
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Google Implements New 9-1-1 Feature on Android Devices
Google is implementing a new 9-1-1 feature in the Phone app on Pixel and select Android devices.
Tapping on the “medical,” “fire” or “police” buttons during an emergency call will convey the type of emergency to the operator through an automated voice service. That service works on device, which means the information stays between the caller and emergency services, and the service functions whether or not there is a data connection. After a user activates the service, the caller can speak directly to the operator as well.
Google said its users’ location, which comes from a phone’s GPS, is often already shared with the operator when they make 9-1-1 calls. The new feature provides similar location information through the automated voice service, along with the caller’s plus code, which is another reliable way to help emergency services accurately locate calls.
“Like the rest of the content shared with the operator using this feature, your location stays between them and emergency services,” Google said.
This feature will become available in the U.S. during coming months, starting with Pixel phones.
Google said it has collected feedback from public-safety organizations, including the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), to make this feature as helpful as possible.
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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.
