CHICAGOIST: City Building Back-up 911 Center on the Sly

While Mayor Daley has spent most of the last several months huffing and puffing about the Olympics, Al Sanchez, and conflicts with the police, the City has quietly been building a back-up 911 center at O'Hare meant to be used if a terrorist attack or natural disaster renders the current West Loop 911 center useless.

EMS RESPONDER: Emergency or Not, Use 911, Minnesota County Says

If you're being chased by a serial killer in Dakota County, be sure to dial 911.

Heart attack? House on fire? You've fallen and you can't get up? Ditto.

But what if the neighbors are making too much noise, you see a suspicious car circling the block or you have a parking complaint? What if a child prankster dials your home and makes rude sounds into the phone, or if a car alarm down the street won't shut up?

In that case ... dial 911.

CHICAGO OEMC: Mayor Daley Announces Major Upgrade To Chicago's 911 System

Mayor Richard M. Daley today announced the completion of major upgrades to Chicago's Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system at a press conference at the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC), 1411 W. Madison St.

The CAD system coordinates the City's delivery of police, fire and Emergency Medical Service resources to 911 calls

"On an average day, Chicago's 911 Center answers 15,000 calls for emergency service. Our call takers and dispatchers answer those calls with calm professionalism. Their job is a critical one," said Mayor Daley

"That is why it is so important that we provide 911 with the best tools availble to assist the residents who are calling in need," he said.

The upgrade was paid for by a $6 million grant from the United States Department of Homeland Security and includes a new UNIX operating system, an upgraded Oracle database, new HP servers and Storage Area Network cabinets.

One of the most groundbreaking elements of this upgrade is the integration of the Operation Virtual Shield (OVS) camera network into each CAD workstation.

MSNBC: 911 Center Upgrade Links Cameras to Cops

A major upgrade to Chicago's 911 system was announced Thursday, linking the Office of Emergency Management's 911 center computers to security cameras across the city.

MLIVE/ANN ARBOR NEWS: County officials hope new director will ease concerns

The Livingston County Board of Commissioners hopes to end some of the criticisms of the county's 911/Emergency Management Department with the appointment of Donald Arbic as its new director, effective April 1.

Arbic, appointed by last week, will succeed Dick Winsett, who will retire at the end of March. It marks a promotion for Arbic, who currently serves as the central dispatch operations director. Arbic's duties will include overseeing operation of the county's 911 central dispatch service, which has been a sore point with area police chiefs.

FIREHOUSE: Response Questioned in Atlanta Blaze

Atlanta officials acknowledged Tuesday a severe shortage in 911 operators contributed to delays in responding to a fire that destroyed a Grant Park home Saturday night.

SIOUXLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL: Grant to aid college’s homeland security training

WASHINGTON - Western Iowa Tech Community College has been awarded a more than $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to help provide homeland security training.

The Sioux City college recently finished work on a $6 million Security Institute, which will house real-life training in disaster and emergency management.

The 38,000-square-foot building also will become home of the joint city/county 911 communications center.

READING EABLE: New Berks County emergency services center has elbow room and lots of computers

Berks County, PA - A display tallies the number of 9-1-1 and nonemergency calls that come in on each shift.

The people answering the calls have elbow room and computers pinpointing the location of every emergency call.

What used to be a room with tables, chairs, telephones and a few computers in an old building now is a modern emergency operations center with computer terminals at all 52 work stations.

Its large computerized screens were activated this week to display information when Interstate 78 was shut down after a 23-car pileup in bad weather.

All those functions are together in one room now because Berks County's 9-1-1 center and emergency management agency merged last month.

FIREHOUSE: Atlanta Seeks to End Police, Firefighter Cuts

The Atlanta City Council unanimously agreed Thursday to look for money in the city budget to end recent cuts in work hours for police officers, firefighters, 911 operators and corrections officers.

The idea comes largely in response to growing concerns in Atlanta neighborhoods that crime is becoming a severe problem. Although Police Department figures show violent crime declined by 9 percent from 2007 and 2008, the recent shooting death of a bartender in southeast Atlanta has sparked complaints from residents about crime and whether the city has enough police officers.

NEWS-HERALD: 911 center relocates

The Loudon County 911 Dispatch Center has officially moved from the cramped confines of a double-wide trailer to a new facility located at 500 John Parris Dr., off Marmont Parkway in Loudon.

LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER: Coldiron quits Homeland Security post

Ralph Coldiron resigned Tuesday from his political appointment at the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security, after the Herald-Leader asked him and Gov. Steve Beshear's office about the legality of a controversial pay raise he received.

Beshear named Coldiron two months ago as executive director of the Office of 911 Coordinator and administrator for the Commercial Mobile Radio Services Board, which is attached to Homeland Security.

EAGLE-TRIBUNE: Regional 911 dispatch center awaiting grant decision

Some public safety chiefs in Essex County are crossing their fingers this week as they wait to hear whether they'll receive a $6.8 million state grant to build a long-talked about regional 911 dispatch center.

So far, 13 cities and towns — including North Andover and Methuen — have thrown support behind a proposed center, which would create a one-stop spot for area 911 calls.

The grant will be awarded in mid-January.

The Regional Emergency Communication Center is competing with 15 other public safety initiatives for the $7 million available for the year through the State 911 Department, part of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

TIMES RECORD: Sequoyah Merges Emergency, 911 Units

SALLISAW — The Sequoyah County Commission merged 911 and Sequoyah County Emergency Management on Monday to facilitate seeking grant funding to help meet 911 needs.

County Emergency Management Director Chris Keathley said there is no grant funding available solely for 911, but if the organizations are rolled together as emergency management, there is more grant money available from which 911 can benefit.

ERIE TIMES NEWS: Crawford County emergency services look to expand

MEADVILLE -- Emergency operations officials are seeking solutions to their cramped county courthouse quarters.

Crawford County commissioners have given emergency management and 911 representatives the initial green light in hiring a consultant to assess conditions in their current home, and to possibly locate and price a new one.

LIVINGSTON DAILY: 911 officials recommend new chief, restructuring

The top two officials with Livingston County 911 Central Dispatch/Emergency Management are recommending promoting the current operations manager to director next April.

ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: DeKalb public safety chief urged

A review of DeKalb County operations says the 911 dispatch system is “severely inadequate,” that “potentially large amounts of the county’s technology investments have been wasted” and that the county needs a new public safety director position.

The report, prepared for incoming Chief Executive Officer Burrell Ellis, notes the county’s projected budget shortfall of $40 million next year.

It says there are “numerous” areas that could be more efficient and questions whether departments are held accountable when they overspend their budgets.

DENVER WESTWORD: Denver Health to City Auditor: You aren't the boss of us!

Denver Auditor Dennis Gallagher presented his office's long-awaited report on the city's emergency medical response system yesterday, saying that the information his team has compiled "speaks for itself." His choice of such a careful phrase to describe the scathing assessment is indicative of the bitter inter-agency politics that have hovered around the audit since it was announced ten months ago.