Communications and Interoperability
The communications and interoperability resource page is designed to help firefighters keep up with the latest communications gear and best practices in mutual-aid and interoperability.
Miami Fire Rescue PIO Ignatius Carroll’s calm demeanor and reassuring presence is well-known to many residents
Age, capabilities, funding and outages are emblematic of problems facing the country’s emergency communications and response system
The red fire alarm boxes found on street corners continue to be valuable, especially during 911 outages, even 100 years later
Public-safety IT managers need to focus on publish-and-subscribe models for interoperable, public-safety networks
Mayor Bill de Blasio said “it’s not acceptable” that ambulances took more than 10 minutes to respond to a fire that killed two children
Two children died in the blaze; an ambulance wasn’t dispatched after the working fire was confirmed
Some report having communication problems with the central dispatch, while the police chief expects most agencies will join
The mayor’s $8 billion budget outlined plans to unify emergency call centers and gradually replace uniformed firefighters with lower-paid civilian phone operators
The city wants to form a committee to review the report of a consultant, who has been criticized for failing to meet with rank-and-file firefighters
Pryme radio products have released a new line of headphones, accessories and mics for law enforcement
“We actually looked into this about a year ago, and everyone on council at the time was well on board,” Police Chief Ken Frost said
A staff member allegedly failed to follow protocol for notifying emergency responders of the outage, which lasted a total of 55 minutes
An 89-year-old man drowned while a worker who took the call did not advise him to try to get out of the sinking SUV, and fumbled the dispatch
Wearable technologies show promise for firefighters and chief officers.
Crews had no idea where to go because their radios were incompatible
Firefighters were dispatched to Grand Street, not Grand Avenue, but officials say that did not contibute to the loss as the home was already fully engulfed
The report criticizes LAFD leaders; proposes partnering with civilian ambulances and replacing 200 firefighter positions with civilians
An investigation found that state dispatchers failed to call in some of the closest firefighters and equipment
Chief David Litton says part of the delay comes from 911 dispatchers starting the response clock before sounding the alarm at the station
The investigative report recommends discipline for the five firefighters and four 911 dispatch employees who sent the ambulance to the wrong address
Questions about inheritance taxes, daylight savings time and a complaint about a roommate stealing beer demonstrate some of the non-emergency calls dispatchers have dealt with
In October, it took nearly four minutes to dispatch crews to a fatal fire
Fire officials said the incident appears to be more about miscommunication in an emergency situation rather than a need to change protocol
The standard committee is focused on beefing up portable devices, including lapel mics, used in interior fire-attack situations
N.C. fire engineer marries his background in computer engineering with firefighting to develop award-winning app
Dispatchers sent crews almost 15 minutes away to the wrong address and by the time it was all straightened out, they had an inferno on their hands
The pair were charged with obstruction of government administration after being warned about the toddler’s calls
Their current system was installed more than 25 years ago and has failed to alert some station’s about calls; they will spend as much as $36,000 to upgrade the system
Firefighter Stan Wilson, a 28-year veteran, died May 20 when a burning building collapsed on him; fire officials say there was flawed communication at the scene
The fire chief launched an investigation and made corrective actions regarding the dispatcher who first tried to calm the man, but hung up when the caller swore at her
Allegations from fire and 911 dispatch officials say the company halted calls long enough to position its ambulances to be the closest units
Some on the department argue that the sirens are a good back up to pagers that can be unreliable
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