Matt Ballou Photos courtesy of Ballou family
Matthew Ballou, a South Berwick firefighter and Biddeford Public Safety dispatcher known for his easy smile, quick wit and professionalism, died Wednesday following a complication from surgery. He was 32.
Ballou died at home in South Berwick after suffering a medical emergency stemming from surgery he had about a month ago to repair a torn Achilles tendon, said his wife, Tiffany Ballou.
A 2006 graduate of Camden High School, Ballou was drawn to a public safety career early on, joining the Lincolnville Fire Department as a senior. He went on to attend the fire science program at Southern Maine Community College and earned his Firefighter 1 and 2 certifications. He later became a dispatcher for Knox County Communications…
One company said it was deliberately excluded from multi-million dollar contracts with Bakersfield, Kern County, and Taejong Ranch to upgrade the county’s public security communications network.
EF Johnson, a Minnesota-based radio maker, wrote in a June letter to the county’s General Procurement Department that Kang’s procurement policy was in a way that county authorities endangered first responders’ safety and harmed the company. Claimed to have violated.
EF Johnson, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational JVC Kenwood, has begun the process of bidding for an estimated $ 78 million in wireless and microwave system upgrades before unexpectedly withdrawing…
By Paul Kiefer
By next summer, Seattle’s emergency call dispatchers may have a new crisis response team at their disposal. The new unit, called Triage One, would be housed within the Seattle Fire Department’s Mobile Integrated Health program and tasked with responding to some crisis calls that don’t clearly involve a medical emergency or criminal activity.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan debuted the proposal at a press conference on Friday morning alongside Councilmember Lisa Herbold and the heads of the Seattle Police and Fire Departments, and the newly created Communications and Community Safety Center (CSCC)…
Escambia County will now default to using a different primary medical helicopter company in what county officials say is an attempt to get the best, quickest service to residents, but the competitor who has been bumped down the call list is worried that will have the opposite impact.
The Escambia County Commission unanimously passed a “first call agreement” with ShandsCair as its preferred provider at Thursday’s meeting. Under the agreement, county dispatch will send all calls to ShandsCair’s dispatch center, and ShandsCair will determine which medical transportation company has the closest available helicopter to respond to the call…
Uvalde City Council members recently approved the purchase of a new records management and dispatch system for the Uvalde Police Department at a cost of approximately $210,000.
UPD Chief Daniel Rodriguez told councilmen at their July 13 meeting that the current system in use, made by Cardinal Tracking Inc., is out of date.
He noted the purchase has been requested for some time, though it was not in the budget before now…
