Archive
9-1-1 Call from Big 5 Assistant Manager Shows Calm Under Pressure
June 14, 2011Watsonville, Calif. — Police continue to investigate what prompted a 22-year-old Watsonville man to load and fire a gun inside a Big 5 sporting goods store before he was shot dead by police. Officers also praised the store’s assistant manager, who they said stayed remarkably calm as she described the shooter’s movements to a 9-1-1 dispatcher. Listen to the call.
Read full articleWireless Device Challenges
June 13, 20119-1-1 technologies have evolved immensely, and the technology continues to develop faster than PSAPs can implement changes. In 1986 when I began my career, our agency had no CAD system or 9-1-1 trunk lines, and there was no such thing as a cell phone. Fast forward to 2011. PSAPs have had to make leaps and bounds into new technologies, and telecommunicators have had to adjust by leveraging resources and new equipment and with some creative thinking.
Read full articleEmergency Responders Need Access to D-Block Spectrum
June 13, 2011By Kevin McGinnis, Sun Journal Original publication date: June 12, 2011 Lewiston, Maine — An apartment house engulfed in flames….
Read full articleRockefeller Excited as Legislation Advances
June 13, 2011U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller said he’s committed to passage this year of a sweeping reform of the way the country’s first responders communicate with one another. Rockefeller has sponsored the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act, which would create a nationwide, interoperable, wireless broadband network for emergency workers and first responders
Read full articleNew 911 System Shares Details with Rescuers
June 10, 2011With most 911 calls, the only information operators get is the phone number, type of phone used to make the call, an address if the call was made on a landline or a latitude-longitude location if it’s from a cellphone.
Read full articleFEMA, FCC Announce Nationwide Test of the Emergency Alert System
June 10, 2011Washington, D.C. — June 9, 2011 — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s FEMA and the FCC will conduct the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS). The nationwide test will occur on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. EST and may last up to three and a half minutes.
Read full articleThe Well-Traveled Delegate
June 9, 2011In his 30-year communications career, Manfred Blaha has attained an international level of expertise in the ever-changing and wide-ranging world…
Read full articlePanasonic Toughbook 19 Receives System Performance, Display and Storage Upgrades
June 9, 2011Secaucus, N.J. — Panasonic Solutions Company announced upgrades to its Toughbook 19 fully-rugged convertible tablet. The updated device features a standard voltage processor, increased RAM and hard drive capacity as well as speed, a brighter sunlight-viewable screen and more.
Read full articleVote 21-to-4 in Favor of Bipartisan D Block Bill
June 9, 2011During the June 8 executive session of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the committee voted 21 to 4 in favor of sending S. 911, the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act of 2011, to the Senate for consideration. Multiple amendments were accepted to the original legislation (S.28) to shape its current form during the hearing.
Read full articlePolice Release 9-1-1 Recordings from Alameda (Calif.) Drowning
June 9, 2011Alameda, Calif. — Dolores Berry pleaded with a police dispatcher to hurry and rescue her mentally ill stepson after he decided to kill himself by walking into the waters off an Alameda beach May 30. “He’s way out in the water right now. He’s trying to drown himself!” Berry told a dispatcher from a cellphone borrowed from a passer-by.
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