Fort Worth Police Audit Faults Response Times, 911 Issues (TX)

by | Jan 4, 2022 | Comm Center News

The Fort Worth police department did not meet its own response-time goals in nearly half of high-priority emergency calls and nearly one in four 911 callers reached a recording and hung up before an operator picked up, according to a city audit obtained by NBC 5.

The department reached its goal of arriving at Priority 1 calls in eight minutes and 54 seconds only 54% of the time, according to the report by the city’s internal audit department… READ MORE

‘Level zero’: ABC15 investigates ambulance response times (AZ)

‘Level zero’: ABC15 investigates ambulance response times (AZ)

by | Jan 4, 2022 | Comm Center News

PRESCOTT, AZ — On June 30, dispatchers inside the Prescott Regional Dispatch Center repeated the same thing again and again.

“(Unit 1201) is en route with a 41-minute ETA, and we’re in ‘level zero’ again.”

“And that brings us back down to to ‘level zero.’”

“I have no units available.”

Those are just a few of several dispatches captured on radio traffic obtained by ABC15 from that day…

AT&T, Verizon reject U.S. request to delay 5G wireless plans

by | Jan 4, 2022 | Comm Center News

WASHINGTON — Verizon and AT&T have rejected a request by the U.S. government to delay the rollout of next-generation wireless technology.

A joint letter Sunday from the telecommunications giants to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Steve Dickson, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration, sought to dismiss concerns brought by U.S. airlines that a new 5G wireless service could harm aviation…

Staff shortages force N.C. EMS agency to ask FEMA for ‘ambulance strike teams’

by | Jan 4, 2022 | Comm Center News

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mecklenburg EMS has requested “ambulance strike teams” as it faces a more transmissible COVID-19 variant, an ongoing staffing shortage and an increase in service calls.

As of Monday, 33 Medic employees are in isolation due to COVID-19, the agency’s Deputy Director Jon Studnek said during a virtual news conference Monday. On Dec. 21, Medic had just three employees in isolation, he said…

Omega to Echo: Kenosha Fire Department assigns levels to EMS calls (WI)

by | Jan 3, 2022 | Comm Center News

Omega. Alpha. Bravo. Charlie. Delta. Echo.

Kenosha Fire Department is now utilizing these codes to classify medical service calls as a safety initiative as emergency units are dispatched.

Division Chief of EMS Nicholas Eschmann said whenever someone calls 911 for emergency medical services a dispatcher asks them a series of questions to determine the severity of the situation.

The levels are designed to help curb the use of lights and sirens on lower-level calls…