Operations
2011 NSDI CAP Now Accepting Grant Applications; Deadline Jan. 6, 2011
November 10, 2010The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) has formally announced the request for proposals to support the 2011 National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Cooperative Agreements Program (CAP). A total of $800,000 is available to award an estimated 21 innovative, geospatial-related projects that are spread across six categories. Each project will focus on ways to expand the geospatial data infrastructure that is necessary to effectively discover, access, share, manage and use digital geographic data.
Read full articleNG9-1-1: Technology Implementation
November 10, 2010Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) systems will allow stakeholders to incorporate new technologies and information sharing methods into their architecture, but it’s important to understand that not all NG9-1-1 systems are equal. Before agencies draft their proposals to implement NG9-1-1, it’s important to keep the technology cart behind the horse by using the core principles of project management.
Read full articlePSAP Consolidation
November 1, 2010“[T]here are clear benefits to consolidation,” states a new report to the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. “The sharing of resources allows for the elimination of duplicate costs, supports coordinated responses, provides greater interoperability, and ultimately leads to more effective and efficient service.”
Read full articleDispatching: A Profession or a Job?
October 27, 2010To work in public safety communications, an individual must be trained and educated in a unique set of skills that goes beyond just knowing how to answer the phone. In this commentary, Joanne E. Angell discusses the differences between a “job” and a “profession,” advocating for the recognition of public safety telecommunicators as professionals and discussing the misperception of emergency communications as “easy” by other public safety disciplines.
Read full articleAHA Releases New CPR Guidelines
October 21, 2010Compressions. Airway. Breathing. If you can remember the acronym CAB, you know the priority placed on each element of CPR in the just-released 2010 Guidelines for CPR from the American Heart Association. For adults, the new Guidelines recommend a chest compression rate of at least 100 compressions per minute and a depth of two inches.
Read full articleThe Comm Center According to Jerry Sprouse
October 21, 2010Jerry Sprouse has been with the New Kent County (Va.) Sheriff’s Office since 1979 and has progressively achieved many accolades during his 30-plus year career, all while being blind. Sprouse lost his eyesight completely in his mid-teens, but has shown true courage and is an asset to his agency.
Read full articleWhen 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 articleNG9-1-1: Managing & Displaying Information
September 21, 2010Earlier this summer, the APCO/NENA Human Machine Interface (HMI) and Display Requirements document for Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) was released for public review and comment. The lessons learned by HMI workgroup during the drafting process may assist those considering how NG9-1-1 will benefit and affect PSAP operations to organize their thoughts and planning.
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.
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