The dispatchers who staff Benton County's 911 communications center are on the front lines of the county's first responders: If they can't handle emergency calls in a timely fashion, it means dangerous delays in getting law officers, firefighters or paramedics to a...

EDINBURG – A virtual first responder system is up and running in Edinburg. Police now have the capability to live stream with 9-1-1 callers. Chief Cesar Torres says the city is the only one in Texas to have the system and the third in the country. He explained when...

ROCK SPRING, Ga. — In an emergency situation when lives are on the line, seconds can make all the difference. That's why Walker County Schools recently invested state school safety funds to enhance its Incident Management System. The school system now is the first in...

A major step has been taken towards a more efficient emergency response service to north-central B.C. At its monthly board meeting yesterday (Oct. 17), the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George (RDFFG) agreed to ‘moving forward’ on borrowing $3 million to...

CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. — A couple in Florida is thankful for a 911 dispatcher who helped them to deliver one of their twin babies over the phone. Brianna Springer's due date was in December. But on Monday she went into labor, she told WFTS. "I had no idea they were...

Two public-safety leaders were appointed to the board of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. The new members include Karima Holmes, director, Office of Unified Communications, Washington, D.C. She supervises all of the...

In many cases, dispatcher jobs are considered administrative and not life-saving. ASPEN, Colo. — On average, 911 dispatchers in Pitkin County take about 1,200 calls a month. Many of those emergencies require life-saving skills before the first responders even arrive,...

In the age of social media, many parents express frustration that young children don't use the phone anymore. That's not true for three special children who were honoured today at Ottawa City Hall. Alyssa, Chloe, and Liam are all under 12 years old and called 9-1-1 to...

LOS ANGELES, CA — Uber passengers who find themselves stuck in a dangerous situation can now text to 9-1-1 thanks to a new feature on Uber's app. The ride-hailing service debuted the feature Thursday in Los Angeles County, Minnesota and Indiana. The company has been...

When it comes to helping others, Rick Grandinetti has shown he won’t hesitate. A 20-year member of the Bradford Township Volunteer Fire Department and a dispatcher with the county for over a decade, Grandinetti is also a member and past president of the Kinzua Chapter...

Pitkin County is elevating the status of its 911 dispatchers to first responders in a move that outpaces a similar effort on the national level.  “We couldn’t wait for the bill that is stalled in Congress to give our dispatchers the job classification of First...

The Lyon County Emergency Communications Center will be hosting a training, “Survival Skills for Dispatchers” on Thursday and Friday. This training will be brought to Emporia by Rescue 1 Colorado and will be held in the Lyon County Sheriff’s Department basement. This...

A week after the sometimes deadly combination of Washington, DC’s 911 center and Metrorail’s operations center took 17-minutes to send DC firefighters to a train collision, the two agencies teamed up for another botched emergency response. Just like October 7’s train...

The Fond du Lac County Communications Center will be saying farewell to a longtime member of their staff in the coming days. Dispatcher Frank Quick will be retiring from the dispatch center on Sunday, after 33-and-a-half years of service as a 9-1-1 dispatcher. County...

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - A former Orange County Fire Rescue battalion chief who was demoted three ranks and forced to take a $20,000 pay cut last year following an investigation into having inappropriate relations with a 911 dispatcher could soon be back in the same...

QUINCY, IL — In an eight to three vote, the City of Quincy/Adams County Emergency Telephone Systems Board decided to erase the "interim' director from Jessica Douglas's title. Douglas is now the official 9-1-1 Director, and her position is effective immediately. This...

CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. — A 911 dispatcher helped a father deliver his son at the family’s home on Monday morning, WFTS reports. Brianna Springer was about 31 weeks pregnant. Her due date was in December. On Monday, she said she went into labor around 3:30 a.m....

CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. -- A 911 dispatcher helped a father deliver his son at the family's home on Monday morning. Brianna Springer was about 31 weeks pregnant. Her due date was in December. On Monday, she said she went into labor around 3:30 a.m. after the placenta...

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Calling 911 can be a scary, stressful experience. But, imagine being in an emergency when the person who can send help, can't understand you. Thankfully, there is a resource available to help bridge that potential language barrier. A recent...

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) The College of Southern Idaho is now offering dispatch classes to hopefully help teach people about dispatching before they get into the job field. “For me, it’s how much they do besides just take calls, they do a whole lot more,” said...