by ECC Editor | Aug 28, 2021 | Comm Center News
ST. LOUIS — In response to months of complaints about St. Louis 911 callers being left on hold, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones announced plans Thursday to combine the city police and fire emergency call centers to eliminate a system that, Jones says, has created a 911 bottleneck in the city for years.
The Jones administration announced Thursday that the city aims to move its fire and EMS department 911 dispatchers to the police department’s downtown call center by October.
In the long term, interim Public Safety Director Dan Isom said the city plans to combine all dispatchers into one unit under the St. Louis Emergency Management Agency and build a multimillion-dollar facility to house them… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Aug 28, 2021 | Comm Center News
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – A new program designed to provide alternative emergency response for mental health 911 calls will launch next week.
The Madison Fire Department’s Community Alternative Response Emergency Services (CARES) team will begin responding to 911 calls on September 1.
In a Thursday morning news conference, city leaders explained how the program will work. The CARES team will consist of a paramedic and a Journey Mental Health crisis worker who will respond to 911 calls in a marked minivan…
by AllThingsECC.com | Aug 28, 2021 | Comm Center News
Clallam County has received a pair of offers from Seattle-area architects to design a joint Emergency Operations Center and 9-1-1 dispatch center in west Port Angeles.
The three commissioners on Aug. 24 opened non-priced proposals from OAC Services, Inc. of Seattle and Lawhead Architects of Bellevue for the proposed joint public safety facility near William R. Fairchild International Airport.
“This is actually not a bid opening,” said board chairman/commissioner Mark Ozias, after he and commissioner Bill Peach each opened manila envelopes from the firms…
by AllThingsECC.com | Aug 28, 2021 | Comm Center News
OSHKOSH, Wis. (WBAY) – A legend is hanging it up in Winnebago County.
For more than 40 years, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, and other emergency responders heard his voice on their radios. Now, Winnebago County’s longest serving 911 dispatcher is retiring.
“The voice of wisdom, the voice of reason. Someone has a question about something, Dennis knows. He’s so generous with his knowledge, his experience and being willing to help the new people along with some of the seasoned veterans.” That’s how coworker Jen Davis describes Dennis Kallin. One of the original ten dispatchers to start what is now the Winnebago County 911 Center, Kallin is the last man standing…
by AllThingsECC.com | Aug 27, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
Those responsible for managing their organization’s E911 strategy face the following new challenges:
- The shift to remote and hybrid work means that employees are largely no longer working from a fixed location.
- The increase in the adoption of softphones changes the way individuals make calls, potentially creating more difficulty in reaching a 911 operator, especially for home-based employees.
- Employees are more reliant on their mobile devices for making phone calls than ever before.
- On-premises PBXs are rapidly going away as organizations increase their use of UCaaS.
- UCaaS, coupled with bring-your-own-carrier for PSTN connectivity, adds additional management complexity in ensuring 911 call routing and location management…
by AllThingsECC.com | Aug 27, 2021 | Comm Center News
ST. LOUIS – Today, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones toured the 9-1-1 dispatch center in Downtown St. Louis to meet with 9-1-1 dispatchers and give an update to press on the administration’s efforts to streamline and improve the city’s current system. Mayor Jones met with experienced 9-1-1 supervisors and dispatchers to learn more about their work, and sat down with a dispatcher to listen in on calls coming into the facility.
“St. Louisans deserve a 9-1-1 system that makes them feel safe and protected,” said Mayor Tishaura O. Jones. “I appreciate the hard work our 9-1-1 dispatchers do to connect residents with lifesaving resources in moments of crisis. My administration is committed to addressing both the short and long-term problems that have faced this system for years…
