by AllThingsECC.com | May 31, 2021 | Comm Center News
Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA), Christopher Nunn made a stop in Cordele Wednesday to announce the awarding of a $347,454 grant from the DCA to Crisp County that will allow enhancements of the emergency communications system.
“These funds are designated to help these first responders in your community,” Nunn said. I spent about 20 years as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and we learned how quickly something like a tornado can cripple a community. Fortunately, you already have infrastructure in place — towers on both sides of the county — so this check for 347 thousand and change will go a long way to enhance the resources you already have…
“One of the things we realized years ago was our communications were short,” he said. “We put up a single site tower and when you got on the fringes of that tower, you couldn’t call for help.
“When things go bad out there on the road, you don’t have time to say ‘Crisp One to central. I need help,’”
When the department went to 800-megahertz communication, Hancock said the system wasn’t compatible to communicate with other agencies.
“If you came from Atlanta or Valdosta, you couldn’t talk to a Crisp County deputy,” Hancock said. “This county had the foresight to enhance that system and move the tower to the lake. Then another tower out on 280 East was purchased from the FAA and that allowed us to use ATTACK, a series of channels that every agency in the country has. Now if we have another tornado or any type of disaster, we will be able to communicate with agencies coming to help us out.”
Crisp County Administrator Clark Harrell noted that the money came from state taxes.
“This is a lot of money,” he said. “And this is federal tax money. So that means local taxpayers won’t have to come up with this money out of the general fund. We have seen our share of disasters here and it will certainly help fill in the gap.”
by ECC Editor | May 31, 2021 | Comm Center News
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Over 30 positions are vacant at the MetroSafe 911 center and officials say filling these vacant positions has been a challenge even before the pandemic.
“There are people who retire out of this position and when they do, we need to fill those positions and it takes up to a year to do that with the training,” said MetroSafe spokesperson Jody Duncan. Duncan says the emergency services center is feeling the effects and is now promoting a telecommunicator trainee program as part of its hiring spree. It’s a paid eight-week program with a starting salary of nearly $18 an hour… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | May 31, 2021 | Comm Center News, Video
911 dispatchers have some of the most stressful jobs in the world. They are constantly helping people through the toughest moments of their lives. All that stress can lead to high levels of burnout and turnover. That is bad news not just for the dispatchers, but for everyone who needs their help, and city budgets. Researcher Elizabeth Linos at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy has found a simple but effective way to address burnout among dispatchers by giving them a sense of community on the job…
by ECC Editor | May 31, 2021 | Comm Center News, Uncategorized
The Virginia Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (VA APCO) has honored Arlington’s Emergency Communications Center (ECC) Deputy Administrator Jeffrey Horwitz with its Public-Safety Communications Information Technologist of the Year award.
The honor recognizes an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary technical knowledge and expertise in their support of public safety communications.
“Jeff Horwitz is an exceptional leader in the field of public safety communications,” said Dave Mulholland, administrator of the Emergency Communications Center. “Not only has he has led our team through the County’s most significant emergencies of the past three decades, including working as 9-1-1 Systems Manager and dispatching emergency services to the Pentagon on 9/11, but has also used his vision and dedication to position Arlington County as a national leader in the adoption of cutting edge emergency communications technology…. READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | May 31, 2021 | Comm Center News, Press Release
Alexandria, VA – Today the Federal Communications Commission adopted an order staying – or suspending – provisions of its rules for the 4.9 GHz spectrum band that would permit licensing of the spectrum for commercial purposes. This action is responsive to requests from the public safety community and warnings that the recent changes to the 4.9 GHz rules would cause problems for emergency communications.
In September 2020, a majority of the FCC – over the objections of then-Commissioner Rosenworcel and Commissioner Starks – approved an order that opened the door to stripping the 4.9 GHz spectrum from public safety. The majority took this action despite significant opposition expressed by multiple major public safety associations including APCO…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 31, 2021 | Comm Center News
Agencies on Michigan’s statewide P25 system again are able to buy L3Harris Technologies equipment for their operations on the network, but the system director said there is no shift from Motorola Solutions, despite significant industry speculation sparked by a recent L3Harris new release about its role in the state, according to the system director.
Brad Stoddard, director of the Michigan Public Safety Communications System (MPSCS), said the L3Harris press release—entitled “State of Michigan selects L3Harris Technologies for public-safety communications technology system”—has created “plenty of intrigue and myriad questions” about the P25 network. In reality, there are no plans to switch any existing gear in the 25-year-old Motorola Solutions-built P25 statewide system, he said…
