911-Inc.

Ready to Handle Runaway Prius? You Better Be

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:05:08 +0000

A rookie San Diego region California Highway Patrol (CHP) dispatcher received a 911 call straight from the front pagesa man said the engine of his Toyota Prius was racing, and he couldn't stop the vehicle traveling at 94 mph. The driver survived the scary 20-minute ride after a CHP officer arrived, told him over the patrol car's loudspeaker to apply the emergency brake and put the car in neutral, the car slowed to 50 mph and the man pressed the engine shut-off button (Prius has no traditional key ignition). Incredibly, at a press conference the driver said he was afraid to perform the two actions that would have quickly stopped the car: put the car in neutral (he was afraid the car would go into reverse), turn the car off (he was afraid he wouldn't be able to steer the car). Instead, he waited for the car to slow down and then pressed the STOP button. As his car rolled to a stop, it gently bumped into the back of the CHP that had pulled in front of him to warn off other vehiclesthe CHP officer never tried to slow down the Prius down by braking in front of it....

Ready to Handle a Runaway Prius? Better Be

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:05:08 +0000

A rookie San Diego region California Highway Patrol (CHP) dispatcher received a 911 call straight from the front pagesa man said the engine of his Toyota Prius was racing, and he couldn't stop the vehicle traveling at 94 mph. The driver survived the scary 20-minute ride after a CHP arrived, told him over the patrol car's loudspeaker to apply the emergency brake and put the car in neutral, the car slowed to 50 mph and the man pressed the engine shut-off button (Prius has no traditional key ignition). At a later press conference, the driver said he was afraid to perform two actions that would have quickly stopped the car: put the car in neutral (he was afraid the car would go into reverse), turn the car off (he was afraid he wouldn't be able to steer the car). Instead, he waited for a slower speed. As his car stopped, it gently into the back of the CHP that had pulled in front of him to warn off other vehiclesthe CHP officer never tried to slow the Prius down by braking in front of it. The incident highlights the need for runaway car advice: immediately tell the driver to put...

National 911 Network Needs Addressing Standards

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:39:21 +0000

Not only have the nation's local cities, towns and counties created their own 911 systems, but they're all based on non-standard and sometimes odd methods of addressing properties in their jurisdiction. Facing the possibility of a future integrated, national 911 network, a federal group is now working to create a standard way of assigning addresses to help public safety pinpoint incidents, and also improve mail delivery and other related activities. The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) held a meeting last month to approve the final draft of the standards, comprising 605 pages of basic definitions and terminology, and an attempt to corral all the various addressing methods into a single, meaningful standard. It's an amazing collection of the familiar and the arcane. Download (pdf) the full document here (http://pdf.911dispatch.com.s3.amazonaws.com/address_standard_feb2010_draft.pdf), and follow the committee's work here (http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/organization/FGDC-SWG).

Deal Final: Ortivus North American Sold

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:30:36 +0000

Finalizing a plan to draw back to its core business, Ortivus AB (Sweden) announced that the sale of its North American public safety software operation to privately-held TriTech Software Systems is now complete. In turn, TriTech said that its new acquisition will be called TriTech Emergency Medical Systems. Ortivus is a 25 year-old company that markets computer-based patient monitoring and decision-making support systems. In 2001 Ortibus purchased Sweet Computer Services Inc., a seminal company in the public safety software industry that was founded in 1978 in Iowa. Sweet marketed a full range of software for EMS operations, primarily to ambulance companies. After the purchase, the Iowa division became Ortivus North America, and continued selling billing, CAD, AVL, mapping, personnel tracking and patient care reporting software. Last year Ortibus AB said it wanted to, "focus even more on development and sale of mobile decision support for healthcare," and put the U.S. division up for sale. In Feb. 2010 TriTech agreed buy the division, reportedly for $11.5 million. TriTech markets a full range of software for law enforcement, fire and EMS agencies. Last month both companies recently received stockholder approval for the deal. In a statement today, TriTech president Chris Maloney called...

Site News: Overhaul Coming Soon

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:21:55 +0000

Over the next week this Web site will undergo a major transformation, all intended to provide a better way for you to read the news and find information, provide feedback on stories, and interact with other comm center personnel from around the world. Behind the scenes, the site will move to a faster server at a different hosting provider. At the same time, the underlying content management software will change (from Joomla to Wordpress, for those who are familiar). The final result will look completely differentit will be much "brighter" and more readable. It will include several new features to improve news collection and distribution: Twitter notification of stories the moment they're posted, an improved commenting system (you will be able to reply to specific comments), improved display of related stories, a sleeker menu system, a display of hot forum topics on the homepage, and much more. The site is in final testing now, and by Friday I will re-configure Internet settings to switch on the new serverit takes about 48 hours for the entire Internet to learn the new server. When you do see the new homepage, let me know what you think and what changes you likeor don't...

911-Inc. and Intrado® Inc. Collaborate on Successful Next Generation Technology Demonstration

helliott — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:02:50 +0000

911- Inc.’s QuickResponse™ software and Intrado^® Intelligent Emergency Network^®verify ability for PSAPs to receive 911 calls over IP

Denver, CO; March 2, 2010 – 911-Inc., a national emergency dispatch center software developer, announced their next generation software, QuickResponse™, has been demonstrated with the Intrado Intelligent Emergency Network,leveraging the Request For Assistance Interface (RFAI) standard that is being developed by the Emergency Services Interconnection Forum (ESIF) of the Association of Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS). This technology will allow emergency dispatch centers to receive 911 calls using the SIP protocol over the Internet, replacing the CAMA phone trunks used today.

“The ability to receive emergency calls over IP is one of the first steps in migrating to a next generation solution,” said Allen Amis, 911-Inc. CEO. “911-Inc. is proud to be at the forefront of testing these new technologies with vendors, proving our commitment to be ready for next generation 9-1-1 data and networks when they are available in any market.”

Today public safety answering points (PSAPs) receive calls through an analog or digital phone line and retrieve ALI location information through a separate modem. In the future, when all voice and data comes to the dispatch center over highly secure IP networks, the 9-1-1 call taker will have instant access to expanded data and location information.

“This is just one of the many benefits of Next Generation call handling,” added Greg Furman, 911-Inc. Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Answering the call and instantly receiving critical location information can save precious time, which can provide better protection of first responders and citizens.”

About 911-Inc.

For over 20 years, 911-Inc. has been a leader in call handling software development for emergency dispatch centers. 911-Inc. solutions include VoIP, mapping, analytics and reporting, resource management, ACD, alert and other features. QuickResponse, the Next Generation and i3 compliant software package, will allow easy management of voice, data and multimedia streams including instant message, text, photo and video. 911-Inc. solutions can be scaled for state-wide, regional, or local public safety answering points (PSAPs). 911-Inc. fully integrates with existing systems or utilizes partners such as Avaya, Hewlett-Packard, Intrado and Motorola to create end-to-end solutions. 911-Inc. has customers across the U.S. and is based in Denver, Colorado. Learn more at www.911-inc.com.

# # #

Contact:

Jennifer McLeland

911-Inc.

303-619-2632

jmcleland@911-inc.com

Detroit: Did Dispatcher Handle Call Correctly?

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:30:10 +0000

The Detroit (Mich.) police chief says he's ordered an investigation into how an unnamed dispatcher handled a 911 from an 8 year-old child reporting that her mother and father had been shot inside their home. Chief Warren Evans released about one-half of the logging tape of the call, but a TV station obtained the full recording, which indicates the dispatcher was skeptical throughout of the child's claims that her mother was bleeding and her father was dead. "I'm not totally comfortable with the demeanor of the dispatcher," Evans told reporters, and said the response time was also in question. He did not disclose how long it took officers to reach the scene, or what type of incident the dispatcher entereda crime or a prank call. On the 911 call the girl said her mother was breathing, however, she did not survive. The father was also killed. Police have identified a suspect and are also looking for a second person. The call ended abruptly without the dispatcher saying "Goodbye." In 2006 Detroit dispatcher Sharon Nichols was fired for mishandling a 911 call from a 5 year-old boy reporting his mother was unconscious. Nichols believed it was a prank call. Last July...

Detroit: Did Dispatcher Handle Child’s Call Correctly?

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:30:10 +0000

The Detroit (Mich.) police chief says he's ordered an investigation into how an unnamed dispatcher handled a 911 from a child reporting that her mother and father had been shot inside their home. Chief Warren Evans released about one-half of the logging tape of the call, but a TV station obtained the full recording, which indicates the dispatcher was skeptical throughout of the child's claims that her mother was bleeding and her father was dead. "I'm not totally comfortable with the demeanor of the dispatcher," Evans told reporters, and said the response time was also in question. He did not disclose how long it took officers to reach the scene, or what type of incident the dispatcher entereda crime or a prank call. On the 911 call the girl said her mother was breathing, however, she did not survive. The father was also killed. Police have identified a suspect and are also looking for a second person. The call ended abruptly without the dispatcher saying "Goodbye." In 2006 Detroit dispatcher Sharon Nichols was fired for mishandling a 911 call from a 5 year-old boy reporting his mother was unconscious. Nichols believed it was a prank call. Last July an arbitrator...

Utah Dispatcher Honored by Red Cross

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:42:10 +0000

The Salt Lake City (Utah) chapter of the American Red Cross held its annual Heroes banquet to honor those who saved a live during 2009, and Utah Highway Patrol dispatcher Kathy Jo Hall was one of the two recognized. Hall fielded a telephone call from a man whose boat had capsized on the Great Salt Lake during a wintry January day as he and a friend were duck hunting. Both men were in the freezing water while emergency units raced to find and rescue them. During the call, Hall made a personal connection with the man to let them know help was on the way, and kept him positive despite the pain from being in the water. Both men were rescued and recovered. Read a story here (http://www.standard.net/topics/featured/2010/03/03/top-utahns-honored-saved-lives-freeway-great-salt-lake).

Dream Dispatching Job Still Open

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:42:24 +0000

There is no more beautiful spot on earth than Alaska, and Denali National Park (http://www.nps.gov/DENA/) is one of that state's scenic wonders. Now you have the opportunity to work therepermanent, full-time. The National Park Service is in the last two days of recruiting for dispatchers at the park, an all-encompassing adventure that includes all the Lower 48 law enforcement, fire and EMS tasks, plus many others unique to the wilderness park. Living and working in that part of Alaska would definitely be a memorable experience. The job pays $34,758 to $45,181, and you can find application at the USAJOBS Web site (http://www.usajobs.gov/), and then enter the job code 1817815. You can Download (pdf) the job description here (http://www.911dispatch.com/jobs/denali_np_disp.pdf). The job closes on Friday.