by ECC Editor | Jul 2, 2021 | Comm Center News
Jan. 6, 2022, is a date that CIOs and other IT leaders need to circle on their calendars. This is the deadline by which non-fixed phone lines will need to comply with the upcoming RAY BAUM’s Act (capitalization is correct).
For those not familiar with the details, a few years back, an unfortunate death of a young woman in a hotel room led to a new regulation being adopted in her name aimed at improving multi-line telephone systems (MLTS). Kari’s Law, which went into effect last year, eliminates any required prefix when calling 911, such as pressing “9” first to get an outside line. It also mandates that a designated contact (or contacts) within an enterprise be notified when a 911 call has been made… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Jul 2, 2021 | Comm Center News
The Gerald R. Ford International Airport broke ground Wednesday on a $7.7 million operation center on the east side of the airfield.
The 11,600-square-foot facility will consolidate the airport’s operations and communications, including dispatch, and it will serve as the new emergency operations center (EOC). The EOC will be activated during an emergency at the airport, and it can support public safety agencies in Kent County. The second phase of the project is to expand the center to include its fire department…
by AllThingsECC.com | Jul 2, 2021 | Comm Center News
Citizen, the crime reporting and neighborhood watch app, says it will be granted access to the encrypted communications of at least one police department once it switches over to encrypting its radio traffic, according to an internal Citizen document obtained by Motherboard.
The news shows that beyond passively ingesting police radio traffic to then push alerts to its user base, as part of what Citizen calls “incidents,” the company will also try to enter agreements with police departments to maintain that access while the wider public is cut-off.
The document says that Citizen got confirmation that the Baltimore Police Department would work with Citizen to keep access to the department’s communications. Baltimore is planning to encrypt its radio traffic…
by ECC Editor | Jul 2, 2021 | Comm Center News
VANCOUVER–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Record high temperatures during the historic heat wave in B.C. have taken their toll on Lower Mainland 9-1-1 operators, who this past weekend were swamped by a record-breaking number of calls and stretched to the limit in their ability to answer them all, says the union representing workers at E-Comm Emergency Communications for BC.
“Between the heat wave, the province-wide restart, and a 9-1-1 operator staffing shortage, there simply aren’t enough of us to get to these calls as quickly as we need to,” said CUPE 8911 (Emergency Communications Professionals of BC) President Donald Grant.
“When you call 9-1-1, seconds count. Delays can lead to property damage, injuries, and even death. When you’re on hold we feel your frustration, pain and suffering. We are working as hard as we can to get to your call, but we are stretched to the limit… READ MORE
by ECC Editor | Jul 2, 2021 | Comm Center News
At Tuesday morning’s meeting of Bloomington and Monroe County’s five-member central dispatch policy board, assistant fire chief Jayme Washel reacted to a statement by dispatch director Amy Hensley, that the center has 11 vacant dispatcher positions.
“I don’t know for sure, but 11 sounds like an awful lot of [dispatcher] positions to be down,” Washel said. He asked for confirmation: “Is that right?”
“That’s correct,” came Hensley’s reply.
Dispatchers are the staff who answer 911 emergency calls at the central dispatch facility, located on the second floor of the downtown transit center at 3rd and Walnut streets… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Jul 2, 2021 | Comm Center News
Alexandria, VA — Today, U.S. Representatives Robin Kelly (D-IL), Norma Torres (D-CA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Peter Meijer (R-MI) introduced the Providing Resources and Occupational Training for Emotional Crisis and Trauma in 9-1-1 Act, or the ‘‘PROTECT 9-1-1 Act.” If enacted, this bipartisan legislation would establish several measures to advance health and wellness for public safety telecommunicators including: establishing a system for tracking public safety telecommunicator suicides; developing best practices to identify, prevent, and treat posttraumatic stress disorder in public safety telecommunicators; developing resources to help mental health professionals better treat these personnel; and establishing grants for health and wellness programs in emergency communications centers…
