Amidst severe ongoing staffing shortages, dispatchers were informed in February, based on an outside consultant report, that the center’s shift schedule would change starting in May. This goes against what they were told in August, Carpiaux said, that “there would be no schedule changes for 2025 in efforts to take the year and fine tune a change for 2026.”

Each dispatcher undergoes extensive training to prepare for working under pressure. Not everybody makes it. 
In 2022, Durango Emergency Communications reported that 99% of candidates weren’t able to complete the training program.

A new report looks at Vermont’s dispatch centers and emergency response.

Now, the state wants to hear from you. On Thursday, the Vermont Public Safety Communications task force will host a meeting to discuss the future of emergency communication in the state.

The Charleston County Consolidated Emergency Communications Center has adopted a new and more advanced call-handling software that improves emergency responses from the public and first responders.

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Gwinnett County leaders gathered together on Thursday to recognize police officers, firefighters and other public safety professionals for going above and beyond the call of duty.Channel 2′s Steve Gehlbach was at the Gwinnett County Valor Awards ceremony, where first responders were honored for their heroic, lifesaving actions.Those honored included a communications officer who took a 911 call from a domestic violence victim and helped save her life after she was shot and officers who helped respond to an active shooter outside the county jail.[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]It’s the 20th year that the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce presented the honors, recognizing not only those who protect and serve but those went above and beyond in life-threatening situations.“With no tourniquet available, Officer Etienne resourcefully used a belt as a makeshift solution,” Sgt. Gregory Ross said, presenting a life-saving award to Officer Feniel Etienne, a senior officer with the Lilburn Police Department.TRENDING STORIES:Etienne was off-duty when a gunman shot someone at a Suwanee automotive shop. He immediately jumped into action.“Happy to be there and able to serve somebody,” he said.The top award, the gold medal for valor, went to five sheriff’s deputies for dealing with an active shooter at the jail in October.A man in body armor showed up at the jail’s entrance with his two-year-old daughter, acting erratically. Deputies identified the potential threat as he returned the child to his car and got a shotgun out.Eventually, the man opened fire at officers with a handgun and they fired back, hitting him.“Their courage under fire and commitment to protecting lives prevented what could have easily been a mass tragedy,” Ross said at the ceremony.The deputies said that “we just came together that day,” calling it a true team effort as other deputies and jail staff locked down inside and got visitors and others out of harm’s way.The gunman from the shooting recovered and is in custody at the jail, facing multiple charges including aggravated assault against law enforcement officers.[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]©2025 Cox Media Group

Whether responding to a medical emergency, coordinating disaster relief, or ensuring officer safety in high-risk situations, public safety radio systems provide mission-critical communications that enable first responders to fulfill their missions.

In 2024 Nye County authorized a temporary interfund loan of $5.78 million from its Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATCF) grant to the county general fund and with that loan now repaid, it was a good time for an update on the status of the grant fund as a whole.
Nye County Contracts and Grants Manager Stephani Elliott provided a presentation on the LATCF during the Nye County Commission’s Tuesday, March 18 meeting. She began with a briefing on the background of the grant program, which was authorized by the U.S. Treasury in 2022 as part of the American Rescue Plan. By June 2023, the county had received its entire $12 million allocation and has earmarked roughly half for various projects. The $5.78 million that has recently been repaid to the LATCF grant fund now awaits the decision of the Nye County Commission on how it will be spent.
As to any potential time limit, Elliott said there is no deadline attached to the LATCF funding. But with President Donald Trump shaking up the grants’ scene, it may be a good idea to act on allocating the remaining funds sooner rather than later.
“The word of caution is, we have a new federal administration that is looking at items of this nature. We have already received this funding so at this point, there are doubts that it could be requested back,” Elliott noted. “However, I am required to do an annual update and report to the U.S. Treasury indicating how much we’ve obligated as well as spent. So, I would say, anything right now with the word ‘grant’ is on the table. But for the moment, we do not have an actual expiration date.”
“In real-world terms, I am aware of grants that have been reversed,” commission chair Ron Boskovich chimed in.
Elliott replied that one benefit of the LATCF program is that the grant allocation is not on a reimbursement basis, as many other grants are.
“We’ve got the money in the bank. That’s the good news,” she stated.
Due to the reference to Native American tribes in the title of the funding program, there has been some confusion among the community as to why the county was not giving a portion of its $12 million to tribes located within its boundaries. Elliott clarified that the LATCF consists of two distinct parts, one for revenue-sharing counties and another for tribal nations, which were able to apply for the grant funding on their own behalf.
“This was our piece of it and I am aware that one of our local tribes did receive LATCF funding,” Elliott said.
When originally addressing potential project submissions for utilizing the money, the county saw more than $34 million in funding requests, far in excess of the amount available. Using a ranking system and personal preference as a guide, the Nye County Commission ultimately selected projects ranging from catching up on deferred facilities maintenance and upgrading the county’s public safety communications microwave system to new vehicle purchases, seed money for a new county facilities management key system and a small allotment for Beatty’s Revert Park. These totaled around $6.2 million of the total $12 million in LATCF dollars.
Since the project selections were made, Elliott said there have been a few adjustments made due to a deadline associated with another of the county’s grant sources, its American Rescue Plan dollars.
“We had $3.2 million allocated to the public safety upgrade and we ended up reallocating those funds to the ARPA budget,” Elliott detailed. “We had existing contracts, we were properly able to allocate the funding, so that Nye County was not at risk of losing that funding. What we have in response to that is, $2.73 million of originally funded ARPA projects that are now being funded through the LATCF funding… We have now added [to the LATCF projects] the community/civics center at $2.4 million and the Tonopah Childcare Development has been added for $300,000.”
Of the $6.2 million allocated, about $2 million has been spent to date, leaving $4.2 million in funds awaiting expenditure.
Nye County officials told the Pahrump Valley Times that a date has not yet been set for commissioners to determine which projects will be chosen for funding through the remaining $5.78 million.
To view the LATCF presentation in full, visit NyeCountyNV.gov and click on “Meeting Center”. The presentation is included as part of item #9 on the commission’s Tuesday, March 18 agenda.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com

The recent suspension of all in-person training at the National Fire Academy (NFA) in Emmitsburg, Maryland, has drawn widespread criticism and concern from fire service leaders, former U.S. fire administrators and dozens of members of the U.S. Congress, who warn that the decision undermines firefighter preparedness and public safety.

Today, Gov. Andy Beshear and the Kentucky State Police (KSP) announced the graduation of 17 telecommunicators from the KSP Telecommunications Academy. These individuals have been assigned to 10 posts across the state, where they will answer the call of service by providing critical communication support to Kentuckians and law enforcement agencies.

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — Charleston County 911 has strengthened their emergency response this week by upgrading their call handling capabilities. The Charleston County Consolidated Emergency Communications Center adopted new, more advanced call handling software that aims to improve emergency response for both the public and first responders.The upgrades include several key features that will increase efficiency and situational awareness, including: Voice to Text – Call takers will receive a real-time text transcription of the caller’s spoken words, improving accuracy and efficiency.Translation – This feature allows for seamless communication with non-English-speaking callers by automatically translating conversations in real time.Triage – The system prioritizes emergency calls, ensuring that simultaneous incidents, such as multiple calls about the same crash, do not delay responses to other emergencies.Location Services – If a caller’s location is not automatically transmitted, call takers can send a link to obtain precise handset coordinates. If the caller accepts the link, the call taker will temporarily have access to the caller’s exact location.Images and Video – Callers can share live images and video with the ECC, offering critical visual information to support response efforts.Responder Link – Call takers can transmit received images and videos directly to first responders in the field, enhancing situational awareness.READ MORE | Man killed in Moncks Corner train crash crossed safety bars: Preliminary reportIn addition, Charleston County has partnered with Carbyne to integrate the new system, alongside RapidDeploy Radius Mapping, which provides additional benefits, including:Access to caller-provided emergency data, such as preferred language and medical information.Outbound text messaging capabilities for two-way communication with 9-1-1 callers.Instant messaging between 9-1-1 centers for seamless information sharing.Crash data from OnStar, Bosch, and other vehicle safety services.Enhanced alarm data from security companies.“This new system represents a major advancement in how we handle emergency calls,” said Charleston County ECC Director Jim Lake. “By improving accuracy, communication, and situational awareness, it helps ensure that people in crisis get the help they need as quickly as possible. Our telecommunicators and first responders rely on clear and timely information, and these tools will make a real difference in their ability to respond effectively.”

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York County 911: Hear EMS summoned to attack at UPMC Memorial HospitalA hostage crisis at the UPMC Memorial Hospital ICU on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, left a West York Borough Police officer and the gunman dead, while five others were injured. Listen to real-time York County 911 transmissions between EMS providers. The Dispatch has requested the police 911 recordings.The York Dispatch’s efforts to obtain audio recordings and transcripts of 911 calls made during the hostage crisis inside UPMC Memorial Hospital that left a police officer and the suspect dead have been blocked.Many questions remain in the weeks following the Feb. 22 incident that left West York Police Officer Andrew Duarte and the suspect dead. Authorities haven’t released the names of other officers who were injured, the extent of their injuries and who fired the shots that fatally wounded Duarte. The fact that a sheriff’s deputy was also wounded wasn’t initially disclosed.Previously, authorities had said that two other responding officers and three hospital workers were injured. A fourth UPMC staffer was injured in a fall, they said.However, the Dispatch reported Monday that an unnamed York County Sheriff’s deputy also was among the injured. The two other wounded officers are from the Northern York County Regional and Springettsbury Township departments. > >Please consider subscribing to support local journalism.Pennsylvania State Police is the lead agency investigating the case that has shaken the community while also spurring an outpouring of support from around the country for Duarte and his family. Another investigation into UPMC by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is underway.York County 911 holds the recordings of communications during the incident but is under no legal obligation to release it, based on Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Law that dictates and defines what constitutes a public record.But neither is the agency barred from releasing it.The Dispatch has been covering the incident and its fallout as a matter of immense public interest and believes a recording of the call would give the public a greater understanding of the full scope of what officers faced in that moment. It already obtained fire and EMS calls from the incident.UPMC Memorial Hospital attack: Listen to the real-time 911 transmissionsA hostage crisis at the UPMC Memorial Hospital ICU on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, left a West York Borough Police officer and the gunman dead, while five others were injured. Listen to real-time York County 911 transmissions between EMS providers. The Dispatch has requested the police 911 recordings.Publicizing the communication can also help promote public safety and the critical importance of mutual aide in emergency responses.In the county’s denial, county Solicitor Jonelle Eshbach cited the section of the law that states: “Records or parts of records, except time response logs, pertaining to audio recordings, telephone or radio transmissions received by emergency dispatch personnel, including 911 recordings” are exempt from access under the law.Since time-response log information held by the 911 department have an exception, Eshbach wrote in her response that the county searched for and received the information and it was attached through a link. It was not.The county’s paralegal, Aggie Puleo, responded to the Dispatch’s inquiry about the alleged attachment, writing that there should not have been a link to any record in the response. And since the Dispatch had not asked for the time-response logs, they were not provided, Puleo said.MORE: Unsealed documents shed light on FBI seizure of Congressman Scott Perry’s phoneMORE: Flatout Sim Racing brings rush of the track to simulation facility in York CountyMORE: West York boys carry the torch as last YAIAA team standing in state quarterfinalsThe Dispatch submitted a new request for the logs and was notified that the county invoked its right to an additional 30 days to respond to it, “as the extent or nature of your request precludes a response within the required five-day time period.”While agency records can be daunting to get from any level of government in Pennsylvania, agencies in other states release records like 911 call audio and police dash or body camera footage that appears on YouTube.The county told the Dispatch in its initial response that further documents or information regarding the Feb. 22 incident at UPMC “may be available from the municipality where the incident occurred, and/or the responding police department.”An official with West York Police Department, where fallen officer Andrew Duarte worked, advised the Dispatch to check with the county.A similar effort was made with the Pennsylvania State Police through a separate process designated for law enforcement agencies’ audio and video recordings. Rather than a standard records request, the Dispatch went to the state police headquarters outside of Harrisburg and hand-delivered a request.West Manchester Township, where the deadly incident at UPMC occurred, responded to the Dispatch by invoking the 30-day extension “to permit the police department to seek a legal review to determine whether the information sought is records subject to access under the Right to Know Law.”More: Inside the pledge far-right York County school board members had to sign to get key PAC’s endorsementMore: York City man arrested by ICE appears set to enter plea as he faces deportationMore: Hospital security in the spotlight after hostage crisis at UPMC MemorialEmergency response recordings, while readily available in other states, are seldom made public in Pennsylvania.And while agencies may release them, it would likely require a court order to compel them to do so since the state’s Office of Open Records, which typically hears appeals for records requests, does not have that discretion, according to Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.To be thorough, the Dispatch submitted an appeal of the county’s decision to the state.An effort by a news outlet, The Intercept, to get the 911 call recordings from the July 13 shooting of President Donald Trump in Butler County was a rare case from a Pennsylvania county that yielded records.After the county denied the request and the open records office denied the appeal, the national outlet elevated it to Butler County Court of Common Pleas.There, a Butler County judge ruled in October that due to the “unique, historical circumstances … which relate to the attempted assassination of a former president,” the court determined that the public interest in disclosure outweighed the interest in nondisclosure, citing a section of the RTKL seldom considered outside a courtroom when a 911 recording or its transcript is being sought.— Reach Mark Walters at mwalters@yorkdispatch.com. > >Please consider subscribing to support local journalism.