by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 3, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the most disruptive innovation in a generation. It is quickly becoming an essential component in many industries, including public safety.
A perfect example of this combination of technology-assistance and human decision-making is in Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), where call-takers serve as the public’s first point of contact in an emergency. PSAP call-takers and dispatchers must separate the signal from the noise, which is all the more difficult when a flood of information from frantic callers washes over them. When the clock is ticking, highlighting critical data points even a few seconds earlier can save lives, and assistive AI excels at such essential work…
by ECC Editor | Jun 3, 2021 | Comm Center News
HALEYVILLE – First responders–those who daily put their lives on the line serving others–will literally take center stage at the Haleyville 9-1-1 Festival Friday, June 4, and Saturday, June 5.
Celebrating Haleyville as the birthplace of the nation’s first 9-1-1 call, which was made in 1968, the festival has grown through the years, but has always paid tribute to all first responders. The festival has branched out to include a wide array of activities and entertainment, which this year will include a line up of top-notch live acts building to the award-winning headliner Sawyer Brown Friday night, June 4… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 3, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
As chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I have a responsibility to ensure that actions Congress and the federal government take regarding our transportation networks contribute to, and do not detract from, public safety. That’s why I oppose the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to repurpose more than half of the 5.9 GHz radio frequency band, also known as the Safety Band.
Since 1999, the 5.9 GHz band has been reserved for dedicated short-range communications to enable vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications. V2X communications, and the technologies they will enable — namely, connected vehicles — will make our transportation networks smarter, more efficient, dramatically reduce congestion, significantly increase throughput on existing infrastructure, and, most critically, make us safer. These technologies, in other words, have the potential to save lives but only if the frequencies they rely on continue to be available for V2X applications…
by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 3, 2021 | Comm Center News
Lewis County 911 Communications has received a $150,000 grant to upgrade its software and equipment that will help the dispatch center maintain and improve its services for the next five years. The grant comes from the TransAlta Centralia Coal Transition Grants Economic and Community Development Board and fully covers the cost of the project.
“If we would not have received that grant we would have had to bill our first responder units and our agencies,” said Scott Smitherman, administrator for Lewis County 911.
The project covers updates for Lewis County 911’s existing software and hardware both in the back room and at the consoles that the dispatchers use…
by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 3, 2021 | Comm Center News
CONWAY, S.C. (WPDE) — At first glance, the decision by Horry County Council members Tuesday night may have seemed strange to those who follow them closely. In a unanimous vote, council members chose to redirect money from public safety enhancements to major infrastructure projects.
This is coming from a council whose chairman campaigned on public safety and whose members inadvertently stalled I-73’s progress by funding it through hospitality fees, which later kicked off a court battle with the City of Myrtle Beach…
by AllThingsECC.com | Jun 3, 2021 | Comm Center News
After switching to a simplified communication strategy, Los Angeles emergency dispatchers got more 9-1-1 callers to initiate early CPR on people with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), especially callers speaking limited English.
In a retrospective cohort study, the rate of callers with limited English proficiency engaging in telecommunicator CPR increased significantly from 28% to 69% after the City of Los Angeles 9-1-1 Dispatch Center transitioned from using the standard Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) to using the Los Angeles Tiered Dispatch System (LA-TDS)…
