by ECC Editor | Nov 9, 2021 | Comm Center News
Each year an estimated 350,000 sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) events occur in the United States in an out-of-hospital environment. In 2020, D.C. Fire and EMS reported 964 SCAs in D.C. with only a 4.7% survival rate. An SCA occurs when the heart’s electrical system abruptly malfunctions, and the heart suddenly stops beating normally. It can happen to anyone, at any time. Almost all of these events result in a call for help to 911. Without quick intervention in the form of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation, death from SCA is certain.
Telecommunicators, such as 911 call takers, are true first responders and a critical link in the cardiac arrest chain of survival… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Nov 8, 2021 | Comm Center News
YATES COUNTY — A statement released Nov. 1 by Yates County Sheriff Ron Spike revealed that one of the most valued members of the Sheriff’s Office and her husband have both died from complications of COVID-19.
“It is with deep regret that we announce the passing of Yates County 911 Chief Dispatcher Sandra L. Smith, age 52, who died this afternoon November 1, 2021 at Geneva General Hospital from respiratory failure due to Covid-19 complications. Sandra is a huge part of the Yates County Sheriff’s Office family, and will be greatly mourned and missed by staff and friends… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Nov 8, 2021 | Comm Center News
FAIRMONT — Marion County residents can now report an emergency by texting 911 instead of making a phone call.
The Text-to-911 service was first available to a limited number of cities across the country in 2014. Since that time, the service has become more widely available, and software developers have combined other emergency services into an all encompassing platform.
Director of Marion County Department of Homeland Security Chris McIntire worked with Zuercher Technologies LLC, to implement the technology here. The system cost Marion County around $180,000…
by AllThingsECC.com | Nov 8, 2021 | Comm Center News
The union that represents E-Comm 911-Dispatcher says the emergency services are facing a major staff shortage and warns that the system is ill-prepared for a major crisis.
BC’s emergency communications experts, CUPE Local 8911, said in a statement that people calling e-comm dispatchers should be connected within five seconds or less for an emergency call, 10 seconds or less for a police emergency call, and three minutes or less less for a police non-emergency call.
However, the lack of staff means that the waiting times for police emergency calls in some cases exceed 20 minutes and the waiting times for non-emergencies exceed five hours…
by ECC Editor | Nov 8, 2021 | Comm Center News
KINGSTON – In the upcoming 2022 budget, Ulster County Executive Patrick Ryan is proposing a centralized emergency response center to help with 911 emergencies and non-emergencies.
“Think of this as the central nervous system for emergency response,” said Ryan. “It will also have the ability for our residents to call for non-emergency services, whether they need heating assistance or they need child support services. If they have issues about paving on a county road.”
Ryan expects the center to cost at least $10 million, and when completed by 2024, it will provide for coordinated responses to all types of calls and be more efficient for county taxpayers… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Nov 8, 2021 | Comm Center News
Emergency communications specialist Nicholas Genchi mans his station in the Flagstaff Police Departments Dispatch Center Wednesday afternoon.
BRADY WHEELER
Sun Staff Reporter
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck and stay-at-home orders swept across the country, thousands of northern Arizona workers were sent home. But at the Flagstaff Police Department, 911 dispatchers continued to show up — even when the going got rough.
Now, more than 20 months into the pandemic, Flagstaff police officials are reflecting on a tumultuous period of dispatch operations that were anything but ordinary. From ongoing staffing concerns to navigating the changing public health landscape, long hours and mandatory overtime were an unavoidable reality…
