Bedford 911 Communications Center receives upgrade to emergency medical call system (VA)

Bedford 911 Communications Center receives upgrade to emergency medical call system (VA)

by | Mar 7, 2022 | Comm Center News

BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) – 911 dispatchers are our first point of contact on some of our most difficult moments.

That’s why it’s so important that they have as many tools as possible to help.

“We are truly the first first responders,” says Judson Smith, Director of the Emergency Communications Center that serves Bedford County and the Town of Bedford.

This week, the Bedford 911 Communications Center got an upgrade. They received a new emergency medical dispatching system through the International Academy of Emergency Dispatch…

MetroSafe dispatcher helps to save family during mobile home fire (KY)

MetroSafe dispatcher helps to save family during mobile home fire (KY)

by | Mar 7, 2022 | Comm Center News

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The Jefferson County Fire Service honored an emergency dispatcher who saved a mother and two children last month.

Chaka Mask, who works at MetroSafe, received a call about a fire at a mobile home on Minor Lane on Feb. 9.

Mask helped to calm the caller down and gave her instructions on how to get her two children out through the bathroom window. Firefighters were able to pull the woman out of the mobile home near Interstate 65 and Outer Loop…

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has published its Contingency Planning Guide for Emergency Communications Funding

by | Mar 7, 2022 | Comm Center News, Report

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), in partnership with SAFECOM and the National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators (NCSWIC), has published the Contingency Planning Guide for Emergency Communications Funding. This new resource provides a series of considerations to help decision-makers plan for the continuity of public safety communications budgets. Expanding on the Contingency Considerations When Facing Reductions in Emergency Communications Budgets fact sheet, this guide provides a more comprehensive look at the considerations public safety officials must weigh when planning for or facing budget reductions. Specifically, this expanded guide features several considerations for sustained investment in mission-critical resource categories, refers users to risk analysis guidance and technical assistance resources, and showcases real-world examples to assist officials in their planning efforts…

San Bruno Police: Radio system fixes will be costly (CA)

San Bruno Police: Radio system fixes will be costly (CA)

by | Mar 7, 2022 | Comm Center News

San Bruno could soon need to shell out millions to upgrade its police communication systems, both to comply with state law and improve spotty radio signal, according to Police Chief Ryan Johansen, who estimated the task could cost as much as $5 million.

Johansen made his case to the City Council this week, requesting funding to comply with a 2023 deadline by the state Department of Justice requiring law enforcement agencies encrypt communications that include personal information like names, addresses or criminal records. He said the city would likely need to act in the next six months to establish infrastructure in time…

Tucson appoints new director to lead historically troubled 911 call center (AZ)

Tucson appoints new director to lead historically troubled 911 call center (AZ)

by | Mar 7, 2022 | Comm Center News

Tucson, public safety communications

City officials recently appointed Sharon McDonough the director of Tucson’s historically troubled Public Safety Communications Department, the office that houses the city’s 911 call center.

McDonough has over three decades of experience working for the city, having first started her career in 1990 as an EMT for the Tucson Fire Department. She most recently served as the interim deputy director of the 911 center under Chad Kasmar, who was promoted to chief of police in late December…

Schenectady County unveils $19M emergency radio system (NY)

Schenectady County unveils $19M emergency radio system (NY)

by | Mar 7, 2022 | Comm Center News

Anthony Jasenski, chairman of the Schenectady County Legislature speaks during a press conference Sunday, March 6, 2022 at the Schenectady County Unified Communications Center.

ROTTERDAM — When the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Office responded to incidents in the western parts of the county as recently as last year, officers would often have to communicate with one another using cell phones due to long-standing inadequacies in the county’s emergency communications system.

The gaps in service created longer response times and put police and other emergency personnel at risk in situations where communication was vital and time was of the essence, according to Chief Deputy Sheriff John LuBrant, who noted that cell service in some parts of the county can be unreliable…