PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — They’re the vital link between victims in need of help and their first responders, but 911 dispatchers said months of mandatory 12-hour shifts have put themselves and the public at risk.
“They’re doing the best that they can do, but you all know what can happen when folks are extremely tired and still under stressful situations. The 911 jobs are among the most stressful jobs in the county,” said Al Smith, SEIU business agent.
Contract negotiations between the SEIU representing the dispatchers and the county appear to be at an impasse, and the dispatchers are holding a vote to authorize a one-day strike on March 12 -— the day of Pittsburgh’s St. Patrick Day Parade…
Arlington 911 dispatcher at the county’s Emergency Communications Center (via Arlington County)
Arlington County is developing an alert system aimed at improving its emergency response to behavioral health crises.
The aim of the system, dubbed the Marcus Alert, is to keep people in crisis — due to a mental illness, substance use disorder or intellectual and developmental disabilities — from being arrested and booked in jail.
It comes from the Marcus-David Peters Act, which was signed into law in late 2020 and is named for Marcus-David Peters, a 24-year-old biology teacher who was killed by a police officer in 2018 while experiencing a mental health crisis…
Last month, an alarm went off in a historic building in Arlington National Cemetery after a sprinkler pipe broke. An emergency signal was sent to the U.S. Park Police dispatch center in southeast Washington. But the dispatch center receives security alarms on a separate computer in a closed room adjacent to the dispatchers, and no one heard it. Instead of notifying the fire department and cemetery staff, no one was alerted, resulting in flooding which damaged the building and historical artifacts, an inspector general’s report released Friday said…
SANTA CRUZ — The Santa Cruz County emergency response dispatch center has its thumb on the pulse of regional police and fire trends, documenting the second year of the pandemic’s impact on local services in its latest report.
The Santa Cruz County Regional 9-1-1 Annual Report for 2021 was released Thursday during a regular board meeting for the agency, better known as Netcom. The 25-year-old joint powers authority, based in a call center high in DeLaveaga Park, dispatches emergency calls for ambulance and city and county police and fire services, with the exception of the Scotts Valley Police Department. It also serves several agencies in San Benito County…
Three public safety workers from Whitfield County received Life Saving Awards after combining forces to rescue a 71-year-old man from a burning home in January.
Honored with plaques for going “above and beyond the call of duty,” according to Commission Chairman Jevin Jensen, were Lt. Justin Hutcherson and Engineer Derek Craft of the Whitfield County Fire Department and Telecommunicator Raina Hall of Whitfield E-911.
Fire Chief Ed O’Brien said 911 received a call on Jan. 28 to 525 Doe Trail, where Ms. Hall learned that the elderly man couldn’t get out of the burning trailer and needed help as soon as possible… READ MORE
FAIRFIELD — When an emergency call comes in, a dispatcher takes down the information, shares it with the other needed departments and sends out the needed responders.
But with the new Westport-Fairfield regional dispatch center all of that will be streamlined, potentially shaving minutes off a call’s response time.
“Our main goal is to get units going as fast as we can,” said Matthew Cohen, Westport’s assistant fire chief…
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.
