Kent Police issue statement about 52-minute 911 response time (WA)

Kent Police said the department and Valley Communications Center are reviewing the 52-minute response time by officers to a 911 call June 14 when a boyfriend reportedly beat and strangled his girlfriend to death at a local hotel.

“We are deeply saddened by the senseless murder of Amber Keith on June 14, and want to express our condolences to Amber’s family,” according to the police statement released Monday, June 21.

A hotel security officer at the Ramada Inn, 22318 84th Ave. S., called 911 and said there was a “very violent” 911 situation and “we have someone getting murdered in 214!” according to second-degree murder charging papers filed against Phillip Jonathan Lopez, 36, of Auburn… READ MORE

Behind the Badge: Council Bluffs receives Class 1 after ISO PPC evaluation process (IA)

Over the last year, the Council Bluffs Fire Department, Council Bluffs Water Works and the Pottawattamie County 911 Communications Center underwent the ISO PPC evaluation process. I’m happy to report that Council Bluffs received a Class 1 rating that goes into effect July 1 of this year. Let me tell you what that means.

The Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) evaluates our fire-protection efforts about every 10 years. ISO evaluates three things to classify how the overall fire protection system works — water supply, 911 communications and the fire department’s capabilities as a whole… READ MORE

NENA does not oppose $15 billion NG911 proposal, but wants language ‘corrected,’ CEO says

National Emergency Number Association (NENA) CEO Brian Fontes said it is “false” that his organization would oppose legislation that would provide $15 billion in federal funding for next-generation 911 (NG911) deployments, but he reiterated NENA’s stance that some language in the existing proposal should be changed.

NENA’s position on the NG911 funding language in the U.S. House infrastructure bill—known as the Leading Infrastructure For Tomorrow’s America Act, or LIFT America Act—is being mischaracterized by some as opposition, Fontes said during a keynote interview at the virtual Conference for Advancing Public Safety (CAPS) event hosted by Mission Critical Partners. NENA believes there are “many, many good aspects” of the legislation, particularly the $15 billion in federal funds with no requirement of a local match, he said… READ MORE

Carlsbad’s modernized emergency call system goes online under state grant (NM)

Carlsbad’s modernized emergency call system goes online under state grant (NM)

A new modern emergency phone system replaced an outdated program used by the City of Carlsbad last month after a state grant of $568,000 was secured.

The money was appropriated from the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) during the current fiscal year.

Katey Prell, commander of the Carlsbad Police Department’s communications division, said the previous system was “antiquated” by today’s electronic standards. She said the old system was installed in 2013…

“It did its job for many years,” she said…

Mayor Turner appoints interim director of Houston Emergency Center to permanent role (TX)

Mayor Sylvester Turner has appointed the interim director of the Houston Emergency Center to the permanent role, according to a press release.

Robert Mock took on the interim role on Feb. 1, a day after the previous director, David Cutler, retired. Cutler served as the director of the Houston Emergency Center since July 2005.

The Houston Emergency Center, a division of the Mayor’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security, was developed in 2003 to consolidate three emergency communications centers for 911: the Neutral Public Safety Answering Point, Police Department Emergency Communications Division and Fire Department Emergency Communications Operations. The center takes over 1.8 million emergency calls and over 800,000 non-emergency calls yearly… READ MORE

Oregon 911 centers first in US with new system to deliver secure location info from smartphones

Oregon 911 centers first in US with new system to deliver secure location info from smartphones

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregon’s 9-1-1 Program and RapidSOS, an emergency response data platform, announced Monday a partnership to deliver lifesaving enhanced location data to each of the state’s 43 9-1-1 centers. Oregon is the first in the nation to securely deploy RapidSOS into an existing, secure statewide foundational Emergency Services IP Network (ESInet), powered by Lumen.

“The existing 9-1-1 system used to locate cell phone calls is over 20 years old, designed long before smartphones or GPS,” explained Oregon State 9-1-1 Program Manager Frank Kuchta. “When a person calls 9-1-1 from a cell phone, the dispatcher can’t see the caller’s exact location; instead, they have to rely on the caller’s wireless carrier for the information. This data comes from a cell tower that could put the caller miles away from where they physically are, depending on several variables, including proximity to the cell tower, topography and the connecting technology…