Industry
Power Outage in San Bernardino (Calif.) Temporarily Disables Emergency Communications
August 11, 2011SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A failed transformer knocked out power to 15,134 homes and businesses in and around the downtown area Wednesday, trapping people in elevators and temporarily shutting down emergency communication systems. People began calling 9-1-1 shortly before noon about the outage, but some of the calls didn’t come through right away, despite city departments having backup generators.
Read full articlePa. Dispatcher Coaches Man as Wife Gives Birth in Parking Lot
August 11, 2011GREENSBURG, Pa. — Bill Hazlett, an emergency services dispatcher for 14 years, received the call at about 6:15 a.m. from a “frantic” Rick Harmon. “He was very excited,” Hazlett said. “The baby was already on its way out.”
Read full articleKanawha (W.Va.) 9-1-1 Dispatcher Marks 30 Years on Call
August 10, 2011KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. — Kanawha County’s emergency dispatch system has undergone many changes over the past three decades, but one thing has remained the same. Toni Wallace has been at her station. Wallace, 53, of South Charleston began her career with the Montgomery Police Department in 1977. But in 1981 she moved to the Kanawha County Emergency Dispatch Center in the courthouse.
Read full articleOhio Shooting Rampage 9-1-1 Calls Released
August 10, 2011The shootings left eight dead, including the 11-year-old boy who sought shelter, and the gunman, identified by police as 51-year-old Michael Hance. Dispatchers on the calls are heard calming residents and urging them to protect themselves.
Read full article10 Years Later, N.Y. Responders Communicate Better
August 10, 2011Sept. 11 was a convergence of the worst possible problems in communication technology — a jammed commercial network made cell phone use impossible. Police and firefighter radio networks were not compatible. But the main problem, the FDNY says, was the damage done to infrastructure called repeaters, which made radio signals work at the twin towers. That left many commanders and firefighters unable to talk to each other. Firefighters in the stairwells couldn’t hear the evacuation order and as a result, 343 died.
Read full articleDelayed 9-1-1 Response Leads to Street Name Review in Maine
August 9, 2011Town Manager Michael Heavener told the Town Council on Monday night that the review comes in response to apparent confusion on June 6, when dispatchers sent police to the wrong address, delaying officers’ arrival to the shooting scene by several minutes.
Read full articleJuly Storm Swamped Illinois Dispatch Center
August 8, 2011During the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift that night in July, the dispatch center in Arlington Heights handled 2,592 phone calls. To compare, the same shift a week before recorded 258 calls.
Read full articleAPCO Unplugged
August 7, 2011“Now, more than ever, is the time to see public safety communications gets the support it needs,” Office of Emergency…
Read full articlePittsburgh 9-1-1 Dispatchers Prep for Batman-Fueled Calls
August 4, 2011PITTSBURGH — Emergency dispatchers in Pittsburgh are preparing to take calls from residents who might be unprepared for fake gun shots, explosions and other mayhem while the Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” films at various city locations.
Read full articlePrank 9-1-1 Call Ties Up Crews for an Hour
August 4, 2011INDIANA COUNTY, Pa. — A prank 911 phone call sent emergency officials on an hourlong search for a woman who claimed she was giving birth in the parking lot of an Indiana County mall. Gary Ryan, Indiana County’s 911 coordinator, said a dispatcher received a call on Tuesday night from a frantic woman asking for assistance after she began giving birth in a Chevrolet Tahoe in the parking lot of the Indiana Mall, near a theater.
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