The husband and wife were both taken by COVID-19 in a matter of weeks, leaving their three grown children, along with their grandchildren, unable to say a proper goodbye. Guadalupe, also referred to as Lupe, was a longtime 911 dispatcher at Chicago's Office of...

For a dispatcher in Fairbanks, any day can be a busy day, with calls ranging from reporting a traffic accident, requesting medical assistance or asking for help with an abusive partner. The COVID-19 pandemic...

PORTLAND, Ore. — COVID-19, riots and social justice demonstrations dramatically increased calls to 9-1-1 and the non-emergency line.  The average wait time in August was 38 seconds compared to 9 seconds in the month of April, and 28 seconds in October.  The...

The Kingman 911 Communications Center was awarded national accreditation on Friday, November 13, 2020, by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) in the Public Safety Communications program. The program provides a communications...

When a call comes in to the dispatch center, help goes out. The caller may not care where the person answering the phone sits, only that the police, fire or ambulance arrives to help. Technology has allowed those calls to be centralized, and the Wachusett RECC...

LAKE COUNTY, Ohio — Lake County Sheriff Frank Leonbruno is sending out many thanks following Tuesday's winter storm. Sheriff Leonbruno took to Facebook to thank the many departments involved in handling the storm, including telecommunicators, deputy sheriffs, plow...

Picture it: You’re caught up in an emergency, but you can’t talk on the phone. So you use Text-to-911. Hoping to give as much detail as possible about your situation, you decide to attach a photo to your text. What could it hurt? The answer is, it could ruin your...

With emergencies at a constant on top of a pandemic, Austin dispatchers and 911 operators have certainly been feeling the impact of an ongoing staff shortage. "It's challenging to operate so under-staffed under normal circumstances, but a prolonged crisis like this...

Following a multi-year assessment of the City of Rochester's Emergency Communications Department (ECD), the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) awarded its national accreditation to the City and County 911 Center, which recognizes...

CLEVELAND — On Friday evening, the city of Cleveland announced that it has terminated one of its dispatchers after a long history of violating the city's policies and procedures. Charles McGeever was fired following an administrative predisciplinary hearing that was...

Marion County commissioners said Tuesday that they are looking to CARES Act money as the means of a possible tax break next year for their constituents. Commissioners agreed to put in a single request for the remaining $34.5 million available through Phase 3 of the...

CLEVELAND — It's a boy! Heights Hillcrest Communications Center announced in a Facebook post that one of their dispatchers guided a woman through childbirth over the phone. According to the post, the call came in at approximately 4:43 p.m. on Saturday,...

The Paducah Police Department's 911 Emergency Communications Division has achieved re-accreditation through the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police, the department announced Tuesday. The division first was accredited in 2016. The process requires a dispatch...

MANCHESTER, N.H. — In New Hampshire, there is a highly specialized group of first responders who are never seen but are critical to public safety, dispatchers. Officials say it is a top priority to protect them because a COVID-19 outbreak would be devastating. >>...