Emergency medical service providers across the U.S. are sounding the alarm that the shortage of medical workers has hit “crisis” levels in many areas, warning Congress that the problem is getting to the point that it is threatening the 911 system.
The American Ambulance Association sent a letter to House and Senate leadership saying the “nation’s EMS system is facing a crippling workforce shortage, a long-term problem that has been building for more than a decade. It threatens to undermine our emergency 9-1-1 infrastructure and deserves urgent attention by the Congress.” … READ MORE
VANCOUVER — As winter weather approaches, North Vancouver RCMP emergency dispatcher Jodie Cohan is encouraging all British Columbians, especially those who venture into the backcountry, to download geolocation technology called What3Words.
The free app divides the world into three-metre squares and assigns each with a unique combination of three random words, which allows first responders to pinpoint the exact location of an emergency.
North Vancouver RCMP implemented the technology last year. Cohan said they were the first RCMP service in Canada to begin using the app…
BANGOR — When you call for help, 911 dispatchers are often the first ones to be notified about a problem. Dispatchers said the job can take a toll on your mental health.
“911 what’s the address of your emergency?”
The Penobscot Regional Communications Center is a public safety answering point facility responsible for receiving and dispatching 911 calls for 66 agencies in Penobscot, Aroostook and Hancock counties…
“Right shoulder,” a deputy could be heard saying to a 911 dispatcher. “…gunshot…”
Static noise covered some of the words of the deputy describing the condition of a man injured in a shooting at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds on Sep. 19 to the dispatcher.
Kitsap County’s 911 dispatch center offers up that static noise as evidence of its aging emergency radio system, which leaders say needs to be replaced by 2028 to remain in use, and they say additional sales tax is what they can do to fund the project.
Kitsap 911, or CenCom, employs dispatchers to collect key information in calls with law enforcement, fire departments and individuals who dial 911. As the population grows, it is becoming harder for dispatchers to communicate smoothly with first responders and residents in some areas of the county…
Work continues on the construction of Shenandoah County’s new public safety radio system as county staff eagerly await its completion.
Gary Yew, the county’s former fire chief and the radio system project manager, said during a phone interview last week that five of the seven new tower sites are “pretty much complete” and that the county was waiting on the completion of tower sites at Lost River, near the Virginia/West Virginia border on the southern end of the county, and at Rude’s Hill north of New Market.
Yew stated on Sept. 29 that the Lost River site, on which the county is co-locating the necessary equipment on a tower owned by TC Energy Corporation, was “moving well” and was about two or three weeks from completion. Construction has yet to begin, however, on the Rude’s Hill tower, which will be located on county-owned property at its trash compactor site…
Rendering via Settembrino Architects of Atlantic Highlands
RIVER VALE—The average township homeowner likely will see an approximate $185 annual property tax increase over 30 years due to the $13.3 million bonding necessary for a proposed one-story, 18,000-square-foot new Public Safety Complex planned for 3.25 acres at the corner of Rivervale Road and Prospect Avenue.
According to town administrator and CFO Gennaro Rotella, the $14 million project cost includes a $700,000 down payment on the bonds, courtesy of a contribution by Woodmont Properties as part of its developer’s agreement with the town…
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.
