by AllThingsECC.com | Apr 23, 2021 | Comm Center News
When I started my career as a dispatcher four years ago I was 24, fresh out of college and still living at ma & pa’s crib. I worked 2nd shift, Wednesday/Thursday off (upgraded to Sunday/Monday now, woo!) . My social life took a hit, but the rents took care of most chores…groceries, cooking, laundry, house cleaning, lunch packing, etc. I really just had to go to work & contribute a meager sum to remain under their roof.
But, of course, being in my mid-20s, I was itching to live on my own. So I got myself a cozy little one-bedroom apartment…close to both work & my mom’s cooking. I was on the hook for my own chore-doing now, but I managed more or less OK. I still do, but I fear I’ve maybe gotten a little neurotic with it…
by AllThingsECC.com | Apr 23, 2021 | Comm Center News
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Dispatchers work around the clock answering the community’s calls for help, but some people are tying up the lines to 911 with calls that don’t qualify for emergencies.
“It’s dangerous to play with 911,” said Paige Cummings, a senior supervisor for Guilford Metro 911.
Cummings and a team of call takers answered 324,493 calls for help, 23,695 were non-emergencies.
“That’s a big number and a big chunk of unnecessary calls to 911,” she said…
by AllThingsECC.com | Apr 23, 2021 | Comm Center News
Lafayette 911 has moved from the windowless basement at the courthouse to a $9.6-million facility designed for virtually any emergency.
The Lafayette Parish Emergency Communications Center was built with 911 operators in mind. It was designed to allow for new technology and other expansions Lafayette’s emergency services may need.
The board that oversees Lafayette 911, Lafayette Parish Communication District, started planning for the new building in the early 2000s, taking note of how the courthouse basement had to be retrofitted for upgrades, said Craig Stansbury, the director of Lafayette 911…
by AllThingsECC.com | Apr 23, 2021 | Comm Center News
SACRAMENTO — This week, the California Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association (CALNENA) and over 8,000 9-1-1 emergency dispatchers across the state of California, presented Assemblymember Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield) with its first ever Legislator of the Year Award.
This award was announced at CALNENA’s conference, which was held virtually, and was dedicated to Assemblymember Salas for his work authoring Assembly Bill (AB) 1945 last year, which recognized the heroic work of public safety dispatchers by reclassifying them as first responders…
by AllThingsECC.com | Apr 23, 2021 | Comm Center News
CLINTON — Two emergency services facilities being built in Sampson County will replace a building that often floods during storms, county officials said.
The new $18.4 million facilities being constructed on 9.5 acres of land will be the home for all the county’s telecommunications and emergency services operations. The 911 Communications facility will be the hub for the county’s telecommunications services, and the Emergency Services facility will house the paramedics, emergency management, Fire Marshals, and the 911 addressing staff…
by AllThingsECC.com | Apr 23, 2021 | Comm Center News
Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Lead Dispatcher Amanda Hart said the first responsibility of a dispatcher responding to an emergency call was to be professional and compassionate, even when facing danger, trauma or uncertainty.
“Obviously, calls are going to affect us in different ways and, based on your own personal situation, some calls may affect you more than others, but our job is to stay calm in the chaos,” said Hart, who has been a dispatcher for 11 years at the Sheriff’s Office. “We handle the call first, and obviously we’re a really tight-knit group, so we rely on each other for support. First and foremost, my job is to take care of the public and our deputies and medics first.” …
