BOZEMAN, Mont. – The growing and highly visited Gallatin Valley over the past four years has created a significant increase in call volume prompting new upgrades and a search for more voices on the other end of an emergency call.
The Gallatin County 911 Dispatch Center released its first annual report showing 160,492 total emergency and non-emergency calls last year and a more than 21% increase in call volume from 2018.
Gallatin County 911 Director Tim Martindale said the 23-law enforcement and fire/EMS agencies throughout the county they dispatch out will get a big boost from a new radio system signal they have been testing out down in Dallas, Texas, to start being implemented in May…
When Karima Holmes appeared at a June 9, 2020, virtual DC Council hearing (above) she had known for three weeks DC 911 made serious mistakes after a woman gave birth inside her Upper Northwest apartment. As the director of DC’s Office of Unified Communications (OUC) it was her job to know. She even said as much during that hearing. But somehow Holmes couldn’t recall the tragic incident when questioned by the chairman of the council committee responsible for OUC oversight…
WALLA WALLA-Anyone familiar with trying to get an uber to find the exact location for pick-up, knows that some locations are harder than others to find. You may have the right address but on the opposite side of the building. Or you are on a road where there are no visible addresses. Frustrating when arranging a ride, dangerous in times of emergencies.
Walla Walla Emergency Services Communications (WESCOM) has partnered with a global address system called what3words, which helps users pinpoint their location anywhere in the world. In an emergency, the system enables people to quickly report their location to dispatchers, who can direct responders to exactly where needed…
At the March board of supervisors meeting, the board unanimously voted to recognize the week of April 9 to April 16 as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
Public Safety Telecommunicators serve as the central hub for law enforcement, firefighters and paramedics. They provide essential and critical information to first responders, whether it be via collecting information from victims, or by providing that information to officers.
Here in Pulaski, that job is handled by the Pulaski County Joint 9-1-1 communications Center. The service area includes the towns of Dublin and Pulaski, as well as the remainder of Pulaski County. In total, the center provides coverage for 330 square miles, to around 34,872 residents…
An organization that runs a county-wide law enforcement radio system is working to fill in a “dead spot” in the Palo Alto foothills that could hinder officers’ ability to call for help when they’re in the area.
The dead spot remained after the Silicon Valley Regional Interoperability Authority, or SVRIA, completed its digital radio system in 2020.
The authority is planning to fill in the dead spot with a digital radio site called the Montebello site, according to SVRIA executive director Eric Nickel, a former Palo Alto fire chief.
The cost of the site could be as much as $3.5 million if it’s interconnected with sites in the “west cell” of the radio system, Nickel said. If the Montebello site is not interconnected, the cost would drop to about $1 million…
Pike County’s citizens may not be aware that all E-911 dispatch has been consolidated at one central location.
David Morgan, executive director of the Pike County Communication District, said the change occurred in the fall of last year. All E-911 dispatch for the Troy, Troy University and the county’s volunteer departments were switched to a central dispatch on Oct. 7. Brundidge police and fire followed at the end of the month and the Pike County Sheriff’s Office completed the transition to central dispatch in December…
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.
