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Putnam’s Heather Fox is Dispatcher of the Year

CARMEL – Putnam County 911 Dispatcher Heather Fox has assisted scores of people in need during her 15-year career as a dispatcher at both the county’s call-in center in Carmel and for 10 years prior in Dutchess County. “Helping others has been my credo throughout my...

911 Services getting an upgrade?

GREAT FALLS - Tuesday is the regularly scheduled City Commission meeting in Great Falls, but this week, a new grant is on the table to upgrade 911 services. It's called the Montana Land Information Act Grant and it's for over $13,000. The city is preparing to move...

Next Generation 9-1-1

Across Canada, the public safety 9-1-1 community is facing a critical, pivotal moment in its history. The existing 9-1-1 system was designed in an era of landline telephones and assumes the calls are coming from fixed, known addresses. Today, most emergency calls...

911 dispatcher keeps cool, delivers his baby

A Lorain County dispatcher found himself on the other end of a 911 call Monday after his wife delivered a baby on their bathroom floor. Sarah Davis suddenly went into labor at their house and quickly realized that there wouldn’t be enough time to get to the hospital,...

Support group helps 911 dispatchers cope with trauma

OTTAWA COUNTY — For those who work as 911 operators, it’s not a matter of if they’re going to hear something traumatic, but when. “Not everybody can do this job,” said Megan Ross, who works as a dispatcher for Ottawa County. “Some people can, some people can’t, and...

FCC Adopts 9-1-1 Rules for MLTS

The FCC adopted rules to help ensure that people who call 9-1-1 from multi-line telephone systems (MLTS) — which commonly serve hotels, office buildings, and campuses — can reach 9-1-1 and be quickly located by first responders. The new rules will also improve emergency response for people who call 9-1-1 from other calling platforms.

Google Implements New 9-1-1 Feature on Android Devices

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Google Implements New 9-1-1 Feature on Android Devices

Google is implementing a new 9-1-1 feature in the Phone app on Pixel and select Android devices.
Tapping on the “medical,” “fire” or “police” buttons during an emergency call will convey the type of emergency to the operator through an automated voice service. That service works on device, which means the information stays between the caller and emergency services, and the service functions whether or not there is a data connection. After a user activates the service, the caller can speak directly to the operator as well.
Google said its users’ location, which comes from a phone’s GPS, is often already shared with the operator when they make 9-1-1 calls. The new feature provides similar location information through the automated voice service, along with the caller’s plus code, which is another reliable way to help emergency services accurately locate calls.
“Like the rest of the content shared with the operator using this feature, your location stays between them and emergency services,” Google said.
This feature will become available in the U.S. during coming months, starting with Pixel phones.
Google said it has collected feedback from public-safety organizations, including the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), to make this feature as helpful as possible.
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81 percent of Idaho counties now have 9-1-1 emergency texting

IDAHO (CBS 2) — There are 44 counties in Idaho and 36 of them now having texting for 9-1-1 emergencies.

Ada County recently received emergency texting in May and the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office 9-1-1 Center just announced that it is now able to receive text messages into its system Thursday, August 1.

Long-time Ogle County dispatcher celebrates retirement

Courtesy: Ogle County Sheriff's Office (Facebook) OGLE COUNTY, Ill. (WIFR) -- A long-time dispatcher is retiring after 23 years with the Ogle County Sheriff's Office. Lisa Bloom received a memorial plaque to celebrate her retirement. The Ogle County Sheriff's...

9-1-1 outage affects AT&T landline phone users

The outage happened on Thursday in Rockford. ROCKFORD, Mich. — There is a 9-1-1 outage for AT&T landline phone customers in Rockford on Thursday.  You can call the Kent County Communications Center until this is resolved, the Kent County Sherrif's Office...

Big Bend counties welcome “Text-to-9-1-1” service

According to a release, once the initial text message is sent, the sender will receive an automated response asking for the address or location of the emergency. Officials say the service should only be used in emergency situations and ask that clear, simple language be used.

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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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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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