‘What if it had been me?’: Man tries Durham 911 call center three times — all go unanswered (NC)

by | Jun 17, 2021 | Comm Center News

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) — A Raleigh man tried to call 9-1-1 three times on his way into Durham Wednesday when he came upon a wreck but couldn’t get through to anyone.

Josh Privette said he was headed to dinner on Highway 70 and saw a car stopped that had its airbags out so he knew the person needed medical attention.

He pulled over, checked with the driver who was conscious but still called 9-1-1 and tried three times but got no answers. He said someone on the scene thankfully had already called 9-1-1 and gotten through… READ MORE

Little Elm eyes mobile command unit (TX)

Little Elm eyes mobile command unit (TX)

by | Jun 17, 2021 | Comm Center News

The town of Little Elm will soon have another tool to help with emergency response.

The Town Council on Tuesday approved the purchase of a mobile command center from Farber Specialty Vehicles in the amount of $599,853.

According to the town, the 38-foot-long vehicle will provide an extension of the town’s public safety building in the field. It will be used for special events, emergency management operations, active fire scenes, and extended police investigations, the town stated. The command vehicle is equipped with a generator to power emergency area lighting, a camera system for crowd monitoring, and enough room to facilitate operations during public safety events…

New technology allows first responders to listen in on 911 calls (NV)

by | Jun 17, 2021 | Comm Center News

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is the first law enforcement agency in the State of Nevada to deploy Live911 technology.

Developed by Higher Ground, Live911 allows first responders to hear the 911 calls as they are being answered by dispatchers in real-time.

This software livestreams 9-1-1 calls directly to the officers in the field via their in-car computers to allow for a quicker response time, more information for the responding deputy to have before arrival, and it provides precise GPS location of the caller… READ MORE

New tool uses smartphone GPS to find 911 callers in N.W.T. (Canada)

by | Jun 17, 2021 | Comm Center News

A new tool to help 911 dispatchers has already helped save a life in the Northwest Territories.

RapidSOS is a data platform that helps first responders locate callers by tracking the GPS on their smartphones. The 911 division in the N.W.T. government started using RapidSOS in April.

Ashley Geraghty is the N.W.T. 911 program manager and he said the new tool has been a game-changer for his department… READ MORE

New Communications Centre Completed In Raymond Terrace (Australia)

by | Jun 17, 2021 | Comm Center News

COMMUNICATION is vital, especially during natural disaster incidents.

For Port Stephens there is an ongoing collaboration of agencies where Marine Rescue assists the Rural Fire Service with radio communications playing a major role during bushfire events.

The Public Safety Network (PSN) in the Hunter has been expanded with the completion of a new site at Raymond Terrace.

The network is designed to help keep people and communities safe.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Taylor Martin said the new radio site, delivered by the NSW Telco Authority, is vital to ongoing community safety across the Hunter…

Apple Watches, phones accidentally dialing up trouble for dispatch (MI)

Apple Watches, phones accidentally dialing up trouble for dispatch (MI)

by | Jun 17, 2021 | Comm Center News

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Don’t bump the buttons: That’s the message from emergency dispatchers across the country as they deal with a large number of accidental calls to 911 from Apple products.

“You’re having people, I’m assuming, that are just double tapping this a lot for that to go off,” said Genius Phone Repair technician Christian Tyler as he showed the safety feature built into newer Apple products.

The feature gives the device owner a way to dial 911 without going to the keypad…