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Emergency 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 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.
Read full articleNew York Mayor Michael Bloomberg Endorses Rockefeller-Hutchison Public Safety Bill
June 9, 2011Washington, D.C.—New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg this week announced that he is supporting efforts by Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV and Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison to give first responders a dedicated nationwide communications network.
Read full articleDispatch Recordings Highlight Law Enforcement’s Frustration
June 8, 2011Roanoke, Va. — The Roanoke Police Department on Monday released its recording of a city dispatcher struggling to get an explanation from a Franklin County counterpart about 9-1-1 calls that reported a man in a Franklin County sheriff’s car had shot someone at a convenience store lot on Memorial Day.
Read full articleDispatch Crashes Hinder Albuquerque Police Department
June 7, 2011When the emergency dispatch system that connects Albuquerque police to the public crashes, it has many ramifications. Lately, the system has been crashing quite a bit — four times this year alone, according to APD.
Read full articleAurora Police Radio Woes Affect Search for Missing Child
June 6, 2011Aurora, Ill. — Aurora police say they faced communication obstacles that may have complicated their recent search for a missing 6-year-old boy near Sterling, Rock Falls and Dixon. The hunt for Timmothy Pitzen was hindered not because of glitches with Aurora’s 7-month-old Harris OpenSky radio system, but because channels designed to allow multiple agencies to communicate weren’t available, Lt. Nick Coronado said Friday.
Read full articleFire Departments Say Alameda Authorities Never Asked for Help to Save Raymond Zack
June 6, 2011Alameda, Calif. — Questions remain about how Alameda city firefighters and police officers handled efforts to rescue a distraught man intent on taking his own life, including whether they asked for help from other local agencies with the equipment and training to assist.
Read full articleMo. Capital City Looking to Upgrade Tornado Sirens
June 6, 2011Jefferson City, Mo. (AP) — Officials in Missouri’s capital city have decided to look into improving its aging storm warning system, after a deadly tornado hit the state’s southwest. Two of Jefferson City’s 15 warning sirens currently are not working, and many of its other sirens are several decades old.
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