Posts From Public Safety Communications
When West Trains East
October 11, 2010In the August 2009 issue, we published an article by Mark Boudreaux called “9-1-1 Instructor for Hire: When West Trains East.” The article was a first-person account from an APCO adjunct instructor who traveled to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to provide public safety telecommunications training at King Abdullah’s University of Science and Technology (KAUST) — a brand new, state-of-the art facility on the coast of the Red Sea in Thuwal. Here, Boudreaux continues his story.
Read full article9-1-1 Friend Request
October 11, 2010Facebook, Twitter and other Web 2.0 tools have become a component of our daily lives. Social and professional networking platforms are a quick, easy way to disseminate a message — whether that message is about your dinner or the latest vampire movie. But do they fit into the public safety mission? If so, where?
Read full articleAPCO Applauds FCC Wireless Accuracy Action
September 28, 2010Alexandria, Va. — The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) international today commended the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for their new location accuracy rules for enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) announced last week. Specifically, the FCC’s decision requires wireless carriers to comply with location accuracy rules at the county level.
Read full articleTwo Dispatchers & Cop Fired for Fake Crime Scene
September 22, 2010A Florida police officer and two dispatchers have been fired for faking a report of a possible crime. The plot was concocted in order to reunite the officer with his estranged ex-girlfriend, who is also an officer with the department.
Read full article9/11 — Nine Years Later
September 9, 2010This weekend marks the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. We did not want to let the day pass without remembering those who died that day. In this article, APCO President Bill Carrow remembers the communications professionals who answered the calls for help, and Jack Daniel highlights advances in in-building technology and codes. We also offer links to related coverage.
Read full article9/11 Five Years Later: How 9/11 Altered FDNY’s Emergency Communications
September 9, 2010Chief Jace P. Pinkus of the FDNY addressed how the department’s communications bureau changed in the five years after the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Read full article9/11 Five Years Later: Where We Are Today
September 9, 2010In September 2006 issue of PSC, Steve Souder addressed the questions of how prepared public safety and public safety communications was to respond to another attack as of 2006. He touched on NIMS, interoperability issues and enhanced communications.
Read full article9/11: APCO Members React in the Wake of WTC & Pentagon Attacks
September 9, 2010In public safety communications, we can learn from the past. To mark the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we are looking back at what happened and how members of the public safety community coped with the aftermath. Here is PSC’s initial coverage of the attacks.
Read full articleState Training & Certification Survey
September 1, 2010Despite the need, there are no national minimum training standards for 9-1-1 telecommunicators. There’s little consensus on how much training in what subjects is necessary and how—and whether—to fund such training. Each state has taken its own path. This article discusses the results of a national survey to determine what each state requires with regard to training.
Read full articleAPCO Candidate Standards Open for Review & Comment
September 1, 2010The APCO Standards Development Committee has been working hard to create and revise national standards for public safety communications. Here…
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