Skagit County will begin accepting text messages to 911 starting March 1.
Helen Rasmussen, director of Skagit 911, said the upgrade will ensure that those who are hard of hearing or have a speech disorder can contact emergency services without specialized equipment.
Rasmussen also said parts of remote Skagit County have spotty cellphone service and can’t sustain a 911 call, but that it might be possible to send a text.
Texting 911 should be used if calling is difficult or unsafe. In order to help dispatchers understand the extent of the emergency, those texting are asked to use complete words and concise language, according to a news release from Skagit 911…
NEW YORK — On Tuesday, AT&T announced it hit a major milestone with $130 billion invested into FirstNet, its communication platform designed for first responders.
The platform was created in 2017, and since then has amassed more than three million users nationwide.
In addition to the investment announcement, the company also announced a variety of new initiatives related to the platform. To combat dead zones inside structures, AT&T is collaborating with the Safer Buildings Coalition to create new code requirements and in-building communications capabilities.
The company also announced it was adding a third “emergency pathway” to reinforce the reliability of the FirstNet platform, like a “’backup’ to the ‘backup’” line,” according to a company press release.
By Edward Parkinson, CEO, First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority)
Broadband has become the lifeblood of our economy. It is also essential to our national security and public safety, a fact that first responders recognized many years ago. The tragedies of September 11th revealed fundamental problems with the communication systems used by our nation’s first responders. They needed a more advanced telecommunications infrastructure for their lifesaving mission, a reliable one to help them communicate and share information during emergencies and daily operations… READ MORE
The Sunrise Beach Police Department received a nearly $10-thousand grant to enhance communication for officers patrolling the city.
The grant is being awarded through the Missouri Department of Public Safety and will allow the police department to upgrade in-car radios in two of the patrol vehicles.
The radios operate on the new statewide public safety system and are used for communicating with dispatch, fire EMS and other agencies around the lake area…
MONROE, CT — A town program helps emergency responders get to participants quickly in times of need — without breaking down the door down to enter their home. The town’s contact and access program is endorsed by the Monroe TRIAD, police department and the Commission on Aging.
Residents who sign up for the program allow their data to be entered into a CAD (computer aided dispatch) system, which dispatchers use to give emergency responders the information they need to reach the resident or their loved one as quickly as possible…
More than 10,000 calls warning residents to flee failed when the Waldo Canyon fire exploded near Colorado Springs in 2012. Thousands of people were left without warnings as flames destroyed 347 homes and killed two people.
Emergency alert failures dogged Colorado 10 years before the Marshall fire began its destructive tear through Boulder County, devouring almost 1,100 houses and prompting fresh scrutiny of a system that’s been blamed for failures in catastrophic fires nationwide, a review of after-action reports shows.
State officials say emergency alert systems have come a long way since those disasters. But critics say they remain woefully deficient as landlines become obsolete and technological advancements heighten residents’ expectations that they’ll be warned if they’re in danger…
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.
