Was there a major event this year where your team rocked it? Did you get training that gave you a new connection to your work? Did your comm center get a new home, or new equipment, or the recognition it deserved?
Tell us about something that happened in the past year that impacted you and/or your agency to be entered in our National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week 2020 contest. This year, there will be two prizes – one for a smaller comm center (up to 50 employees) and one for a larger one (51 and up). The entry in each comm center size category that has the most likes on April 20 will win lunch ($100) for their teams. Voting is open at npstw.org/like, so get your entries in now.
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The full program is coming together for APCO Nexus, being held May 21-22 in Washington, D.C. If you are interested in participating on one of the panels, visit the Nexus Call for Speakers page. Submission deadline is February 24.
If you aren’t interested in speaking but want to attend, registration is open and space is limited.
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Committee signup is open from now until April 1. In this space each week, we will be spotlighting APCO committees that are seeking volunteers.
Awards Committee
APCO International is honored to recognize, through the APCO Awards program, the great work performed everyday by public safety communications staff. The Awards Committee needs your help in two ways.
First, help identify those who have demonstrated the highest levels of personal and professional conduct and performance in the line of duty. Now is the time to share the pride you have in your co-workers, your agency, and our entire profession. Nominations for the awards program are accepted until March 31, 2019. Submit a nomination.
Second, if you would like to be a part of the committee that reads and scores the nominations, sign up to volunteer on the committee whose members say it is life changing.
Historical Committee
The purpose of this committee is to assist chapters in defining, identifying and ensuring the preservation of national and local historical documents and/or memorabilia; to educate membership about our history; and to provide guidance for members submitting items to the online Virtual Museum. The Historical Committee is also an active part of the annual conference by participating in the APCO Pavilion through the display of its historical booth.
The people, the technology, and the memorabilia all weave together to capture our excellence in service – and you, too, can play a part in this historic legacy. Sign up to volunteer on the Historical Committee and be a part of history in the making.
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South Metro Fire Rescue / MetCom, CO, has received Agency Training Program Certification, a Project 33 Initiative, from APCO International.
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Mission Critical Communications
APCO is asking for clarification so that wireless carriers provide the 9-1-1 location information expected on the timeline established by the commission.
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Clermont Report
Neighboring county emergency communications centers are also equipped to handle the messages, which allows for ease of transfer, said Greg Holcomb, director of the Office of Public Safety Support.
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GAO
The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) allows 1,400 alerting authorities to send wireless alerts to cell phone, radio and television, but there are 400 applications pending for localities, leaving gaps in local access to the system.
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North Coast Journal of Politics, People & Art
The pilot was rescued in dense fog from his sinking plane. After the incident, the fire department acknowledged the work of several assisting agencies, including the Eureka Police Department 9-1-1 Dispatch who remained on the line with the pilot and aided in his discovery.
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Patch.com
Chula Vista police are the first to gain permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to record video using drones from beyond the line of sight.
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The Mountain Jackpot News
Robin Lindberg received an award from the El Paso/Teller 911 Authority for directing quick action by a neighbor to save the life of a woman who fell down the stairs and was not breathing. A resolution declared: “Because of Robin’s quick thinking and knowledge of the protocol, the caller’s neighbor is still alive today.”
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CSUN Today
Mary Dardon, a public safety telecommunicator for the California State University Northridge (CSUN) Department of Police Services, was checking hundreds of cameras covering the campus when she saw a student attempting suicide and dispatched officers who stopped the attempt. In recognition, she received the Life Saving award during the CSUN Police Commendations Award Ceremony.
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CBC
Northwest Territories telecommunicator Christopher Moore, only months on the job, dispatched medics to the scene but the baby came before they arrived. Moore guided the caller through the birth, including instructions on how to clean off the baby, check breathing and to cut the umbilical cord.
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The Denver Post
Under the new status, the county's telecommunicators will be acknowledged in the same way as sheriff’s deputies, firefighters and paramedics, and receive comparative benefits such as better access to mental health care.
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Lebanon Democrat
The goal is to centralize the 15% of dispatches that are not now centralized in Tennessee, which would mean less need to transfer 9-1-1 calls.
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Morning Journal
The fix comes in response to an AT&T maintenance outage that prevented Columbiana County, Ohio, emergency communications centers from relaying emergencies locally.
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Minot Daily News
Barb McPeak retired after 32 years as a public safety telecommunicator for Minot Central Dispatch (N.D.). She said her techniques for dealing with the ongoing stress helped her through decades on the job.
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CBS 19
People receiving the fake 9-1-1 calls are in turn calling 9-1-1, tying up public safety telecommunicators and disrupting operations.
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