Comm Center News
Delta County 911 dispatchers receive first responder status (CO)
Delta County Commissioners, at the recommendation of Delta County Sheriff Mark Taylor, voted unanimously to pass resolution elevating county 911 dispatchers to the status of first responders. The federal government under its Standard Occupational Classification System...
CISA Publishes Guide on Communications Dependencies for Public Safety
SAFECOM, an organization within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), has issued a white paper on how public safety agencies can prepare for communications issues associated with dependencies on third-party partners. The paper,...
Delaware County 911 center receives help during COVID-19 crisis (IN)
MUNCIE, Ind. — Delaware County 911 dispatchers are receiving a little help from their friends during what authorities hope will be a short-lived COVID-19 crisis. Last Friday, Paul Singleton, director of the Delaware County Emergency Communications Center,...
North Island 9-1-1 celebrates 25 years of serving the community (Canada)
From mountainous areas to forested landscapes and pristine oceanside communities, North Island 9-1-1 is Island decision making for Island solutions. For 25 years the North Island 911 Corporation (NI911) has supported local residents when they needed it most. NI911...
Tuscaloosa residents can now text 9-1-1 in emergencies (AL)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - People in Tuscaloosa County now have another way to alert 9-1-1 that there’s an emergency. Rod Coleman, Tuscaloosa County’s 9-1-1 Director told WBRC that dispatchers are using technology allowing people to text 9-1-1 for emergencies and not...
Board declares emergency over Humboldt County’s 911 system failures (CA)
One week after reviewing a facilities master plan, which included a recommendation for the renovation of sheriff’s office infrastructure, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to declare a facilities’ emergency over the state of the county’s 911...
IWCE Virtual Session – Public Safety DAS and BDAs: Focus on Network Infrastructure
IWCE Virtual on August 24-27,2020 brought the global critical communications community together for 5 days of education, networking, new technology trends and much more! Now you can catch up on up on some of the most impactful sessions you might have missed at the...
NENA Cancels In-Person NG9-1-1 Standards & Best Practices and 9-1-1 Goes to Washington Conferences
NENA announced today that it has cancelled its upcoming in-person events ? the NG9-1-1 Standards & Best Practices Conference (originally planned for January ?21) and 9-1-1 Goes to Washington (originally planned for February ?21) ? due to the ongoing public-health and safety concerns related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. NENA is exploring the possibility of hosting a virtual 9-1-1 Goes to Washington in February of 2021 and looks forward to resuming the in-person Standards & Best Practices Conference in January of 2022.
Nova Scotia to begin testing new 911 system that could accept pictures, video (Canada)
Nova Scotia's Emergency Management Office is about to test a new system that will push its 911 phone service into the 21st century. Next-Generation 9-1-1 is a digital system that not only accepts voice calls, it will also allow emergency crews to better locate...
Berrien County Names Dispatcher Of The Year (MI)
Berrien County’s 911 Telecommunicator of the Year is Melissa Hensley. During a meeting of the Berrien County Board of Commissioners this week, Hensley received the honor with the 911 Advisory Board’s Jack Fisher saying she helped save a life by staying calm during a...
First Responder Friday Salutes 911 Dispatcher Judy Puma (NY)
Every Friday we honor the people who help us during our darkest times. This week we send the First Responder Friday salute to a veteran dispatcher Judy Puma. Can you imagine a more stressful job than answering the calls of people who are in pure panic mode? Judy Puma...
Martin County building new communication tower to eliminate ‘dead zones’ for first responders (FL)
STUART, Fla. — Martin County is creating a clearer line of communication for first responders. County leaders announced plans to build a new public safety communications tower in Hobe Sound to enhance radio coverage for paramedics, fire rescue, and law...
Invisible 911 Dispatchers in New Jersey Face Uncertainty During Pandemic (NJ)
SPARTA, NJ - On a fall day in 2019, a young boy riding his bicycle rolled onto the main road near his Sussex County home. The reverberations from an oncoming dump truck would signal danger to any adult. For this boy they foretold death. Someone...
GCHS grad joins KSP Post 4 as dispatcher (KY)
12 Kentucky State Police telecommunicators, one of whom is from Grayson County, were recognized at graduation ceremonies for the 16th class of the agency’s in-house Telecommunications Academy. KSP Commissioner Rodney Brewer told the graduates that the role of a...
SERESA dispatcher named Michigan Telecommunicator of the Year (MI)
ROSEVILLE — A South East Regional Emergency Services Authority dispatcher recently received an award for 2020 Telecommunicator of the Year. Kathryn Schmelzer has worked for SERESA for two years and was nominated for the award by her supervisors. She was chosen over...
First responders hold trunk or treat for kids (TN)
GIBSON COUNTY, Tenn. — The Gibson County Emergency Dispatch held a social distancing trunk-or-treat. Cars drove by with kids inside in the Gibson County E-911 parking lot. First responders passed out candy in order to bring a since of normalcy during COVID-19. Because...
Butler County fire chiefs lose out on $2M grant to replace obsolete radios (OH)
A group of 14 Butler County fire departments was hoping to receive $2 million to replace obsolete radios, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency rejected the application this week. “We are disappointed that we were not awarded the grant but understood going in...
Despite virus scare at local 911 center, the calls don’t stop (WA)
EVERETT — It could have been a disaster for the Snohomish County 911 dispatch center in September. After working 1½ shifts in a room with other radio dispatchers, in the glass-walled building that’s like a nerve center for all first-responders in Snohomish County, a...
Driving in-building public safety communications to scale
In an emergency situation, first responders need to have access to robust, reliable in-building communications systems–you won’t find any disagreement among public safety leaders and authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) as well as building owners, systems...
NENA 2021 Call for Papers Now Open
From now through December 4, NENA is accepting session proposals for the NENA 2021 Conference & Expo taking place at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, OH from June 26 – July 1.
Presenting a session at NENA 2021 is an excellent opportunity to share your knowledge and experience with an audience of 9-1-1 professionals eager to gain and share information. It is also your chance to give back to the profession and help inspire, inform, and educate attendees on a variety of important issues. To ensure your submission receives due consideration, please ensure that:
Your proposal is issue-focused, not product-focused;
Your 65-word presentation description contains a precise objective;
You are able to identify three clear audience takeaways;
You fully complete all areas of the submission form and provide accurate contact information, including phone number(s), email address(es), and mailing address(es);
You use proper grammar, capitalization, and punctuation; and
You provide the names of any co-presenters with your submission (or prior to the close of the submission window).
Your session should address one of the following topic areas:
Analytics & Data
Cybersecurity
Facility Planning
Frontline Skills
GIS & Databases
Innovation
International
Leadership
Management
Network Technology
Next Generation 9-1-1
Preparedness
PSAP Technology
Pub Ed & Outreach
Public Policy
Standards & Best Practices
Train the Trainer
Wellness
Click here to submit your great idea today! All proposals are due by Friday, December 4.
Session submitters will receive acceptance or rejection notifications by mid-January. Submitters selected for the conference will receive multiple communications from NENA and will be invited to at least one session facilitation webinar. Finally, new for 2021, breakout presenters will be required to submit a handout of key session takeaways to be provided to conference attendees via the event app (due to NENA by June 1).Benefits for those selected to present at NENA 2021 include:The lowest possible rate for full-conference registration or a free one-day pass if you will only be attending on the day you present;Access to the speaker lounge for the duration of the conference;A special speaker thank-you gift; andBio and profile listed in the NENA 2021 conference app.
If you do not receive either an acceptance or rejection email from NENA by January 15, then please contact Lisa Fulton.
Upcoming Webinar
4.9 GHz Band: Review of the FCC Order
On October 22, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) released its Eighth Report and Order (Eighth R&O) regarding utilization of the 4940-4990 MHz (4.9 GHz) band that protects incumbent users as requested by us, the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA). This Eighth R&O addresses a number of issues related to the use of this band by public safety. Please join us for a briefing on this order and how it impacts public safety.
This presentation will be led by Chief Jeff Johnson (ret) and Attorney Jason Karp, one of the nation’s leading experts in public safety spectrum regulations.
REGISTER
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