Industry
Grants from OnStar May Assist EMS in Predicting Injury Severity
December 1, 2010OnStar is enhancing its core safety focus. In coordination with the GM Foundation, OnStar is providing a grant of $500,000 to the International Center for Automotive Medicine at the University of Michigan Health System for research related to the prediction of injury severity level after a crash.
Read full articleWait Times Drop for California Cell Phone 9-1-1 Calls
December 1, 2010Sacramento — Wait times are dropping and more Californians placing 9-1-1 cellular telephone calls are getting through to telecommunicators. The state Public Safety Communications Division says only 5% of cell phone emergency calls haven’t reached 9-1-1 operators this year, which compares to 42% of 9-1-1 wireless calls placed three years ago.
Read full articleFire Chief Dies as Address Mix-Up Stalls EMTs
November 29, 2010East Hampton Town, N.Y. — A beloved former Hamptons fire chief died from a heart attack after emergency crews responded to the wrong house because of a bizarre address mix-up.
Read full articleMistake Sends Emergency Notification to Thousands
November 29, 2010Athens, Ohio — An automated phone call that went out to more than 23,000 county residents, informing them of a possible fire, was the result of a mistake on the part of an inexperienced dispatcher.
Read full articleEx-Dispatcher Takes Plea in Alcohol/Weapon Case
November 29, 2010Athens, Ohio — The former Athens County 9-1-1 dispatcher who was arrested for allegedly being drunk and having a gun in his vehicle at the Albany Independent Fair pleaded guilty to a reduced charge earlier this month.
Read full articleAgencies in D.C. Area Will Be Able to Communicate on Radio System
November 29, 2010Federal law enforcement officers from different agencies soon will be able to talk to one another on their own radios in the Washington area — but the Department of Homeland Security will not be a part of the system.
Read full articleFCC Says PSAPs Must Be Able to Receive 9-1-1 Texts
November 23, 2010“It’s time to bring 9-1-1 into the digital age,” Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said on Nov. 23 to public safety officials at the Arlington County Emergency Center in Arlington, Va. Genachowski announced that in December he will launch a proceeding, as recommended in the National Broadband Plan, to get public input on how to transition the current system to broadband-enabled, Next Generation 9-1-1.
Read full articleSpreading Cheer & Legacy
November 22, 2010Officer Brittany Maxwell of the Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Police Department planned to spread a lot of joy this holiday season through her Christmas Tree Project. Her goal was to collect at least 30 trees this year. Unfortunately, Brittany, 25, unexpectedly passed away in her home on Oct. 23 and didn’t get to see the project through. Dispatcher Jennifer Smith is helping to continue the project this year—and years to come—with the help of Brittany’s family and friends.
Read full articleNew Emergency Warning Sirens & 9-1-1 Upgrade Planned for St. Louis County
November 19, 2010St. Louis, Mo. — The new emergency warning system for St. Louis County is working its way through St. Louis County municipalities, minding its manners along the way, and stepping on a minimum of local jurisdictional toes.
Read full articleDispatcher’s Action Saves Family of 5
November 19, 2010Flat Rock, N.C. — Authorities say a father and his four children had to go to the hospital after breathing in carbon monoxide from a generator running all night in the basement of their Flat Rock apartment. According to a report by WYFF4.com, dispatcher Ondrea Baker answered the 9-1-1 call. “It was her last call of the day.” The family initially refused emergency response, saying they would get to the hospital themselves, but the call “made Baker so uncomfortable that she decided to send help … whether the family wanted it or not.”
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