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The calm during the storm: First responders honored at No One Left Behind ceremony (AK)
A roomful of heroes were honored at the fourth annual No One Left Behind award ceremony. Students with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District and the Fairbanks Rescue Mission collaborate to make...READ MORE
City of Springfield will not to be part of the new dispatch center (OH)
SPRINGFIELD — The City of Springfield will not join the new Clark County dispatch center despite years of negotiations between the city and county government. “Public safety and 911 dispatch are the most critical services that the public relies on us to...
Austin man arrested after allegedly threatening to kill 9-1-1 operator (TX)
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police arrested a man after he allegedly threatened to kill a 9-1-1 operator during a call, according to an arrest affidavit. On Wednesday, Nov. 6, police were sent to a Motel 6 at 1901 Airport Commerce Drive in southeast Austin for a check...
Sheriff’s office awarded 911 grant to upgrade dispatch consoles (KS)
PAOLA – The Miami County Sheriff's Office dispatch center is poised for an equipment upgrade. The sheriff’s office has learned it will receive a $284,272.80 state grant to purchase four P25 IP based dispatch consoles, according to a news release issued Tuesday, Nov....
Ready for anything: Needham’s emergency management admin faces communications struggle (MA)
NEEDHAM — After 10 years in the Navy as a fighter pilot - deployed in Japan and Washington state, Lt. Cmdr. Rebecca Ping secured a master of science degree in emergency management and began working for Needham in 2017 as the town’s emergency management administrator....
Albemarle County seeks to hire own emergency coordinator
Albemarle County wants to shift from a regional emergency management coordinator to a county-specific staff member. Currently, the Charlottesville-UVa-Albemarle Office of Emergency Management is a division within the regional Emergency Communications Center and is...
911 center in Carroll County needs more positions and overtime has ‘exploded,’ staff tell commissioners (MD)
County staff say overtime has “exploded” at the Carroll County Emergency Communications Center and more people are needed to take 911 calls. One county commissioner at Thursday’s board meeting pushed for the county to hire more staff immediately, but the rest of the...
As I See It: A 911 dispatcher says thanks (OR)
As a public employee, I knew it would not be appropriate to write a letter to the editor before the election, but if I could have, this is what I would have said: It’s hard to describe the life of a 911 dispatcher on paper. We work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,...
911 Dispatch Centers Can Take Multiple Steps To Combat Cyberattacks
There are more than 6,000 dispatch points throughout the United States, and this vital emergency service is now under constant threat, because hackers are infiltrating dispatch centers and rerouting calls away from dispatchers. Malware and spear-phishing attacks...
Police dispatcher hopes to find forever home for cat waiting at shelter for 100 days (IN)
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WJW) — A photo of a police dispatcher cuddling with a cat at the shelter is quickly going viral. According to the Bloomington Police Department in Indiana, Matt Smith stopped by the shelter this week to take some photos for the “Furever Friends”...
New 911 dispatch center breaks ground in Hillsboro
HILLSBORO, OR (KPTV) – A new 911 dispatch center in now under construction in Washington County. Police, firefighters, and emergency responders were all there to celebrate the groundbreaking in Hillsboro Thursday afternoon. The center will feature technology to boost...
A dispatcher shared a heartwarming moment with a shelter cat – now he wants to find her a home (IN)
5-year-old Nevada has [been] at the shelter for 97 days BLOOMINGTON - When dispatcher Matt Smith went to the animal shelter to take some photos for the Bloomington Police Department, he had no idea he would find a new mission. "Five-year-old Nevada had been waiting on...
New emergency alert system gains approval by Lyon County Commission Thursday (KS)
Lyon County Commissioners approved payment for a new emergency alert system for Lyon County first responders during their weekly action session Thursday. Lyon County Emergency Communications Center Director Roxanne Van Gundy made the request of payment for the...
UCSO dispatcher completes basic class (OR)
SALEM — Dispatcher Rachael Haller of the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office recently completed a course with the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. Haller and her classmates graduated from Basic Telecommunications...
Thurston County Tax Increase to Improve 911 System Passes With Broad Support (WA)
Sales Tax: Measure Increases Sales Tax by One Tenth of 1 Percent A sales tax increase that would help fund replacements and upgrades for Thurston County’s primary emergency communication system, owned and operated by Thurston 911 Communications (TCOMM 911), was...
The New First Responder Crisis: Not Enough Dispatchers (CA)
In recent years there’s been a great deal written—some of it by us—about local governments failing to recruit enough employees to fill some of the most vital public sector jobs, including police, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and so on. People...
911 calls for help as dispatcher staff shrinks (WY)
Teton County’s communications center has half the dispatchers it needs to adequately answer emergency calls, and that means trouble. “We are one person away from not being able to answer 911 calls 24/7,” Sheriff Matt Carr told county commissioners Tuesday morning....
Dispatcher gives notice at Branch County 911 (MI)
Branch County Central Dispatch is back in crisis mode after a dispatcher gave her two-week notice Tuesday to leave for a higher paying job. Director Kurt Spalding told his board Wednesday an employee hired in July was released from her job October 31 during the...
C800 group seeks new location for tower in Lake Oswego (OR)
A wrench was thrown into the Clackamas 800 Radio Group's plans to build a public emergency communications facility at Cooks Butte Park after the three Emery sons, whose parents sold Cooks Butte Park to the City in 1975, withdrew their consent for the tower. "I have...
Miami looks to form central dispatch center (OK)
MIAMI, Ok. — The city of Miami is takings steps toward forming a central dispatch center. Since the Ottawa County Jail closed last month, dispatchers from the Sheriff’s Department have been working several hours at the Miami Police Department. Through this initiative,...
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PSBTA Releases Survey on First Responder Support for FirstNet Reauthorization
New Survey: First Responders Overwhelmingly Support Reauthorization of FirstNet
A new bipartisan national survey commissioned by the Public Safety Broadband Technology Association finds near- unanimous support among first responders for reauthorizing the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority)– the agency overseeing America’s dedicated public safety broadband network.
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Congress should reauthorize the FirstNet Authority now.
Support the reauthorization of the FirstNet Authority to preserve public safety’s network
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Podcast
FirstNet and the 4.9 GHz Spectrum
This episode dives into the critical evolution of public safety communications, focusing on the recent FCC decision to establish a nationwide Band Manager framework for the 4.9 GHz spectrum, and discuss the evolution and deployment of the FirstNet System. Host Chris Tubbs interviews Chief Jeff Johnson, a leader in public safety technology and the development of FirstNet. Together, they explore the history, governance, and transformative potential of FirstNet and the 4.9 GHz spectrum in enhancing public safety operations with emerging technologies like AI, 5G, and augmented reality. The discussion emphasizes the importance of protecting and optimizing public safety spectrum, the lessons learned from past advocacy efforts, and a call to action for public safety leaders to remain engaged in ensuring the spectrum’s effective use and governance.
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Webinar
Accessing Federal Resources When an Emergency or Major Disaster Strikes
In light of the major disasters that our nation has recently experienced, PS Grants is offering this FREE webinar to review Disaster Assistance Programs and how to access them. Learn what federal funds and resources are available through Disaster Assistance, understand the process of requesting assistance, know what to expect before, during, and after, and find out who to contact for help.
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