The key is to avoid overwhelming responders by sorting, prioritizing and providing only data that local fire companies need. —Casey Grant, Executive Director at the Fire Protection Research Foundation, the research affiliate of the National Fire Protection Association
lines. In some areas, traditional PSAPs aren’t directly answering mobile calls. They’re routed to state police or other PSAPs miles away that have to deter- mine a caller’s location and the nature of the emergency and then transfer the call once or twice to reach the correct local dispatcher. With NG911 and improved location ac- curacy, PSAPs can zero in on a caller’s location—especially wireless callers— faster and more accurately so fire- fighters can quickly find them. “They say a fire doubles every 30 seconds. If someone is trapped in a fire, every second matters,” says Fire Captain Rob Reardon. He heads the NG911 regional call center in Duxbury, Massachusetts,
arrival.” In rural areas, improved infor- mation for firefighters working alone increases their safety. And dispatchers can provide more efficient backup. In the future, NG911 will allow dis- patchers to share intelligence from other responders about a dangerous situation over FirstNet (See page 2 to learn howNG911 and FirstNet will work together). Dispatchers can share and contribute digital informa- tion to improve situational awareness for responders in the field.
field, he says, “We’d know who’s closest to assist the firefighter and save a life. Amayday to a fire chief is the worst experience of their career.” NG911 could also facilitate the dispatch center to send maps, videos or alarm sensor data. “As a fire responder, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to see exactly what’s going on with the alarm system on my iPad while I'm en route?" says retired Fire Chief Jeffrey Johnson, CEO of the Western Fire Chiefs Associ- ation and former Vice Chairman of the FirstNet Board of Directors. “NG911 (connected to a wireless network) will provide a greater set of tools that can enhance our situational awareness so we can make better decisions pre-
ENHANCING LOCATION ACCURACY
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More than 75 percent of all 911 calls are made on cell phones instead of land-
8 NG911
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