Top Comm Center Headlines
News & Articles
Mo. girl, 10, calls 911, follows dispatcher’s directions to help mom delivery baby – (MO)
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Miracle Moore, 10, dialed 911 when her pregnant mother was in pain on Oct. 23. “She said call 911 and I called and then that's when she had the baby,” Miracle told KSDK.
FCC Updates Rules To Improve 911 Reliability
The Commission adopts rules designed to ensure that 911 special facilities, including PSAPs, receive timely and actionable information about 911 service outages that potentially affect them READ REPORT AND ORDER as well as Commissioners Statements HERE
Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Dispatcher Wins 2022 Governors Fire Service Award (VA)
The Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System (LC-CFRS) is proud to announce that Emergency Communications Center Dispatcher Adriane Heiden has been awarded the Virginia Governor’s EMS Award for Outstanding Contribution to EMS Telecommunications. The Governor’s...
Ulster County 911 dispatchers honored – (NY)
KINGSTON – Ulster County’s emergency services dispatchers have been honored by the county dispatchers for exceptional skill and professionalism during a weekend of high stress calls where they provided life-saving measures, repeatedly.
Ground is broken on emergency call center (NM)
Otero County officials broke ground on the Otero County Public Safety Answering Point Center Nov. 9 in Alamogordo. The Center, also known as PSAP, will function as a hub for emergency calls for Otero County, the Village of Cloudcroft and the City of Alamogordo,...
Hamilton Co. 911 Telecommunicator kept victim calm during tense home invasion(TN)
A local 911 operator is being praised for keeping a family calm during a frightening home invasion. Telecommunicator Jennifer Mealer has been answering emergency calls in Hamilton County for the past four years and says she loves her job. READ FULL ARTICLE
DU-COMM board of directors names new executive director – (IL)
DU-COMM (DuPage Public Safety Communications) announces the hiring of a new executive director, Jessica Robb.
St. Louis City plans to add $42 million facility for 911 dispatch – (MO)
ST. LOUIS (KMOV) - To tackle 911 problems that have long plagued St. Louis, the city is moving closer to a plan to consolidate police, fire and EMS dispatch in one place. “Our 911 system is a bottleneck where police dispatch answers all the calls and basically triages...
A 9-1-1 caller just wanted to say ‘hi’ (NV)
Those who wish to express their good-natured thoughts by way of a phone call may want to avoid what Pahrump resident Michael Murphy is alleged to have done this month.
Franklin County hires new communications director (ME)
Brad Timberlake
FARMINGTON – Tuesday, the county commissioners approved the hire of Brad Timberlake as the communications director at the Franklin County Regional Communications Center.
Timberlake, 37, lives in Jay with his family. He has been in public safety since 2002, starting as a volunteer firefighter. He attended college for fire science and then worked in the Jay Police Department dispatch center before it was regionalized. He has worked law enforcement patrol in Jay and Livermore Falls, and part-time patrol in multiple agencies overlapping with full-time jobs at Franklin and Somerset Dispatch Centers.
He spent two years at Franklin Dispatch, following eight years at Somerset County Dispatch, where he started as a dispatcher and was promoted to dispatch supervisor after three months.
September marked Timberlake’s five years as a dispatch supervisor at the Lewiston-Auburn 911 center, which is reported to be the third busiest 911 communications center in the state of Maine, based on average call volume.
Timberlake has 16 years total experience in dispatch and 12 years as a dispatch supervisor, along with a total of 14 years in law enforcement patrol.
Commissioner Bob Carlton sat in on one of the interviews with Timberlake and stated Tuesday that he was very impressed. The commissioners unanimously approved the hire.
Timberlake will start the job December 5, 2022.
Florida 911 dispatchers overlooked, miss out on $1K bonuses from Gov. DeSantis
As Hurricane Ian swept across the beachfront towns of southwest Florida, when panicked callers to 911 reported they were crouched in attics or standing in high water and fearful they would drown as floodwaters rose, Christine Hodges was a reassuring voice on the other...
Cottonwood to help with dispatching crisis – (MN)
.
MSD safety commission: Broward Sheriff should takeover “dysfunctional” county 911 dispatch system (FL)
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission is asking Broward County to give up full control of 911 operations to the sheriff's office.
iPhone 14s now can send SOS via satellite. Use it carefully.
Some experts worry that expanding access, without proper education, could increase the number of calls to an already burdened system. By adding satellite SOS to its newest phones, Apple is taking what was a niche safety feature and offering it to millions of iPhone 14...
Cobb’s Board to consider using ARPA funds to attack public safety vacancies (GA)
The plan would use more than $20 million of Cobb’s ARPA allocation to adjust salaries, implement recruitment and retention incentives, and raise the entry-level pay. The entry-level pay for E911 dispatchers would go from $41,500 to just over $43,000.
Billings area 911 dispatch to begin encrypting law enforcement radio traffic – (MT)
BILLINGS - The City of Billings/Yellowstone County Emergency Communications Center will begin encrypting all City law enforcement radio communications for the safety of officers and security of sensitive information. This change, set to take place on Nov. 15, 2022,...
City Communications takes home top statewide honor, other awards – (TX)
A City of Victoria video project documenting a young cancer patient’s visit to Victoria won the top award at the Texas Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors conference Nov. 3-4 in McAllen.
Dispatcher recounts suicide call (ID)
Being a sheriff’s office emergency communications officer (dispatcher) handling the 911 calls, dispatching for all the first responders in Boundary County including law enforcement, fire and ambulance is both a challenging and rewarding career. READ FULL ARTICLE
Consolidated Dispatch Agreement Now Improving Public Safety at Reno airports (NV)
(Nov. 10, 2022) The City of Reno and Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority (RTAA) announce the official transition to a new consolidated dispatch services agreement that will lead to faster emergency response times at Reno-Tahoe International Airport and Reno-Stead Airport....
Jersey City Council rejects $213k contract for private company to evaluate 911 dispatch
The Jersey City Council rejected a resolution to evaluate issues and present possible solutions regarding the city’s 911 dispatch at last night’s meeting.
Reauthorization SurveyMORE>
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.
PETITIONSMORE>
Congress should reauthorize the FirstNet Authority now.
Support the reauthorization of the FirstNet Authority to preserve public safety’s network
PSBTA UpdatesMORE>
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.
LISTEN TO PODCAST
Public Sector GrantsMORE>
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.
REGISTER
Subscribe to Comm Center News
Get the latest News, Articles, and Insights from AllThingsECC.com weekly in our newsletter.
Stay Up to Date With The Latest News & Updates
Share Your Story
Join our community to share your experience and connect and collaborate with colleagues.
Join Our Newsletter
Get the latest News, Articles, and Insights from AllThingsECC.com weekly in our newsletter.
Follow Us
Stay connected with the latestEmergency Communications News, Articles & Information.



