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A day on the job at MedStar: What’s it like to be a paramedic or 911 dispatcher? (TX)
For first responders at MedStar, no day is ever the same, and not every day is high-intensity. But there’s one thing that remains the same day in and day out when they clock in for their 12-hour shifts — maybe they’ll help save or change a life that day — and that...
Broward Commissioners To Vote On Dispatcher Pay Raises Amid Shortage (FL)
Pay raises could soon be coming to Broward 9-1-1 dispatchers as commissioners address the critical shortage in the call center. There are dozens of vacancies and that means emergency calls are delayed or could go unanswered. Broward Mayor Michael Udine says they...
Concerns raised over 911 center system viability (KY)
PADUCAH- Millions of dollars of improvements are needed to get the Paducah-McCracken County 911 Center up to standard. Members of the joint city-county 911 Oversight Committee had a very candid conversation during their meeting on Monday about what would happen if the...
Lawrence County 911 operators honored for saving lives (PA)
NEW CASTLE – Two telecommunicators from the Lawrence County Department of Public Safety this month received letters of commendation for saving someone’s life in two separate incidents. Public Safety Deputy Director/911 Coordinator Richard Hoover said during the early...
Staff at Minneapolis 911 call center log more than 4600 hours of overtime in 3 months (MN)
Minneapolis 911 dispatchers and operators combined to log more than 4,600 hours of overtime over a three-month period this year, according to records obtained by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. Of the 50 Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center employees listed, 16 individually...
911 dispatcher recognized for helping parents deliver newborn baby in Algonquin (IL)
File Photo – Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District | Photo: Tyler Tobolt / Lake and McHenry County Scanner A 911 dispatcher will be honored Wednesday for helping parents who called 911 with delivering their newborn baby until paramedics arrived in...
New Haven names Joseph Vitale new 911 director (CT)
NEW HAVEN — Mayor Justin Elicker named Joseph F. Vitale Jr., a 30-year veteran of the Yale University Police Department, to be the new director of public safety communications, a month-and-a-half after naming his predecessor, Kevin Stratton, to the position. As...
Florida P25 system slated for completion in 2024, will interoperate with FirstNet
Florida’s efforts to transition its Statewide Law-Enforcement Radio System (SLERS) from legacy EDACS to P25 technology that is augmented by FirstNet broadband service is largely on schedule, with most public-safety users having P25 devices by July, according to an...
Smart911 emergency profiles provide first responders with more information, faster
Since the first full time fire department was established in Cincinnati in 1853, emergency responders have raced into unknown scenarios with limited advance information when the firehouse bell rings—until now. Among the many advancements of next-generation...
911 nerve center of emergency response (GA)
SPRINGFIELD — For most people, 911 is a series of numbers on the telephone. But in an out-of-the-way building in Effingham County is a team of people that serves as the first link to help in a crisis. The Effingham County 911 Call Center is the nerve center of the...
The Durham 911 Dispatcher course aims to speed up hiring (NC)
Durham, NC – On Monday, the city of Durham is taking steps to make sure that someone can quickly answer the phone when people call 911. As of May 16, the city lacks 10 dispatchers, and Durham needs to hire more than a dozen calls, dispatchers and shift supervisors for...
Mansfield fire chief reminds residents to call 911 for emergencies, however minor (MA)
MANSFIELD -- Got an emergency? Dial 911, no matter how minor the emergency may seem, Fire Chief Justin Desrosiers said. “Anytime you need a police officer or a firefighter to come to your house you need to dial 911,” he said. In the past week, three people have called...
Onondaga County sending non-emergency calls to nurses to cut ER visits (NY)
Onondaga County is hoping to ease overcrowded emergency rooms in central New York by putting nurses on the end of certain calls to 911. The county has hired a company out of Texas to take non-emergency medical calls in what’s called a nurse navigator program. County...
With dispatch center understaffed, Cumberland County looks to adjust operations (ME)
May 21—Officials at the Cumberland County Regional Communications Center are looking for ways to adjust operations to reduce the number of hours dispatchers are forced to work as the county tries to fill 10 open positions. With more than a quarter of the center's 35...
The 911 emergency system is outdated. Updating it to the cloud is risky.
Dialing 911 could be the most important phone call you will ever make. But what happens when the software that’s supposed to deliver that call fails you? It may seem simple, but the technology behind a call for help is complicated, and when it fails, deadly. The...
Moral takes dip at 911 call center (PA)
The Chester County Department of Emergency Services’ 911 Center is experiencing an unprecedented loss of emergency dispatchers that has left a significant gap in the county’s public safety system and has forced the county to scramble to fill slots left vacant over the...
FIRST NG9-1-1 CALL HANDLING SYSTEM APPROVED
SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NextGen NOW is accelerated in California with the certification of NGA's NEXiSConnect™. After several months of rigorous testing, Next Generation Advanced (NGA) is pleased to announce that its multimedia Call Handling...
APCO International Announces 2022 Award Winners
Alexandria, VA – The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 Emergency Communications Center Awards and Technology Leadership Awards. The winners will be recognized during the Opening...
Public Safety Advocate: Spectrum, Licensed and Unlicensed, Who Wins, Who Loses
Article after article has been written to make a case that broadband in the United States should be available to all regardless of where they are located or their ability to pay for the service. While “broadband for all” has been a goal for the wireless/fixed...
Ask Asa: Wireless carrier is improving mobile 9-1-1 call routing (GA)
When consumers place a wireless 9-1-1 call, they expect the nearest 9-1-1 call center will answer so there's minimal delay in getting help. But the Federal Communications Commission — the FCC — has long worried about legacy approaches to wireless 911 call routing that...
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
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