9-1-1 Weight in Gold

You’ve been hacked! Cyber-attacks seem to be a constant concern for many organizations and 9-1-1 is not excluded.  Benjamin Gairrett, ENP, Information Technology Support Manager at the El Paso-Teller County 9-1-1 Authority shares some recently discovered vulnerabilities and how the Authority was impacted. He also gives updates in 9-1-1 technology in part one of this three-part episode!

In this episode Ben discusses:

• Changes in work environments within the 9-1-1 industry and movements to remote and hybrid work
• Benefits and capabilities of remote dispatching and call-handling 
• Technical requirements and specs for remote work environments
• Satellite network that provides high-speed internet to remote locations
• Migration and redundancy in data centers and technology
• Virtualization and disaster recovery​​​​​​​
• Recent cyber-attacks and organization vulnerabilities
• Social engineering
• What users can do to prevent being hacked

Ben references:

• Uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
• Elon Musk’s company, Starlink
• Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)
• White hat, black hat, and gray hat hackers
• Unified access gateway (UAG)
• Public Safety Communications article How One ECC Installed Remote 9-1-1 Operations
• Arlington County VA ECC Takes on the Pandemic with Remote Capabilities
• Episode 49: FirstNet Helps Emergency Communications Center Adapt during Pandemic

Joscelyn Niski has been in 9-1-1 for ten years.  She worked as an emergency response technician, public safety dispatcher, and is now an IAED certified quality assurance analyst. Prior to her emergency communications career, Joscelyn worked a variety of jobs to include providing customer service at a call center.  Her initial assumptions of what it would be like working at a 9-1-1 center were very different than what she or her first responder family expected. In this episode, hear about:

• How perceptions of 9-1-1 can be reshaped.
• The importance of demonstrating confidence in our decisions and learning from mistakes as a team.
• The significance of evaluating and changing our communication styles.
• Ways she uses energizers during training.

Joscelyn references:

• Communication Feedback:  Know Thyself through Employer’s Council. Helps understand other people’s learning and communication styles. 
• Her hobby of photography.  You can see some of her photos on her Facebook page, Joscelyn Brice Photography. 
• Modern Cross Stitching, as an alternative hobby and way to reduce stress. 
• The Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman.

Robin Lindberg has been in 9-1-1 for eighteen years and has worked for three separate agencies as a dispatcher and trainer.  At one point she worked at Woodland Park Police Department, Teller County Sheriff’s Office, and Cripple Creek Police Department at one time!  She’s taken APCO’s Certified Training Officer and NENA’s Supervisor classes.  Prior to 9-1-1 Robin worked as a lead at Sea World San Diego and has been the star in several theatrical performances to include playing a deceased male.  This former theatre buff shares her experiences and gives tips on transitioning between agencies. Robin discusses how she:

• Leverages technology to her advantage and improve efficiency
• Ways she practices patience and understanding
• Finds similarities in processes and protocols between agencies
• Has handled challenging calls and incidents as a dispatcher
• Had an ambulance crew taken into law enforcement custody
• Processes difficult calls

Robin recommends and references

• The benefits of debriefing
• Tips for being a good caller and witness 
• Cross stitching for stress reduction
• The Outlander Series
• The play, Arsenic and Old Lace which was also made into a movie

If anyone can train 18,000 people in 18 months, it’s Ty Wooten, ENP and Director of Education at the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).  While he wasn’t working at NENA at the time, he was training public safety officials. Ty’s 27 years in 9-1-1 have varied from working as a Communications Officer at Hancock County Sheriff’s Department to Emergency Communications Manager at Indianapolis International Airport, and everything in between.  He founded a tactical dispatch team and many other industry standards that are in place today.

In this episode you’ll hear about:

• The benefits of tactical dispatch teams.
• Indiana Box Company’s seven-alarm fire in Indianapolis.
• The importance of involvement in 9-1-1.
• The value of industry standards and best practices. 
• Numbers other countries use for emergencies.
• How Europe handles incoming 9-1-1 calls. 
• Ty’s vision for 9-1-1. 

Ty references:

• National Emergency Number Association (NENA)
• NENA’s Tactical Dispatch Course which is one of 26 different training programs
• I3 Standard in Next Generation 9-1-1
• Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA)
• Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO)
• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• European Emergency Number Association (EENA)
• Dare to Lead by Brené Brown

Have you ever come across an error in a project and felt overwhelmed? Now imagine finding 60,000 errors in that project!  Where would you begin? Justin Annan is the GIS Analyst and MSAG and Street Naming Coordinator at the Authority.  Justin served in the Marine Corps in field artillery and deployed to Iraq.  He also studied Journalism at UCCS before switching to Geographic Information Systems. Hear how this former marine conquered a very large project and more in this episode! 

This episode breaks down and defines:

• GIS.  What is it?  According to Justin, Geographic Information Systems (or GIS) is the process of gathering, managing, and analyzing spatial data to tie it to locations and symbolize it in different ways.
• Site points.  Our two-county region has over 300,000 of them along with 50,000 road segments. But what is a site point? What’s a building footprint? How does GIS pull all of this information together?
• Road centerline data. The road centerline data includes attributes like the speed limit, traffic direction, address ranges, the community, county, and more.
• Plat maps.  You can also learn more about plat maps and other GIS legal descriptions on the Assessor's webpage.
• The street naming process. Discover that MSAG stands for Master Street Address Guide which includes all of the different road segments and address points for our region.  While it's not a spatial data set or connected to our 9-1-1 data, it must synchronize with both types of data.​​​​​​

You will also hear about the updating process and how it's changed to a more simplified, streamlined process. As well as his upcoming project road naming convention project. Creating alias names for roads to make them easier to find for call takers/dispatchers and other responders.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Justin recommends:

• Reading Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, especially if you are interested in Science-Fiction.
• Going on walks to reduce stress.
• Listening to heavy metal.  Some of his favorites include The Browning, Viral Millennium, and Arch Enemy.

Curious to know who was the first person to get the Emergency Number Professional certification in Colorado Springs? Well, look no further than our own quality assurance analyst, Jenna Kester! Prior to joining the El Paso-Teller County 9-1-1 Authority team, Jenna was an emergency response technician and dispatcher at Colorado Springs Police Department for 13 years. She also holds her CMCP.  

In this episode, you will hear about:

• Changes in dispatch protocols over the years.
• The reasoning behind the protocols we use.
• The accreditation process​​​​​​​.
• Her tips for new call takers and dispatchers.

Jenna recommends:

• Making lists.  She is a professional list-maker and uses them to help reduce stress and stay organized.
• Everything by Brené Brown along with many other self-help and self-love books.

Dan Ausec had no idea that wildland firefighting would lift him from a career in health and exercise science, to working with numerous agencies to centralize a computer-aided dispatch system (CAD).  If you don't know who Dan Ausec is, this episode will introduce you to the CAD and GIS manager at the El Paso-Teller County 9-1-1 Authority.  Dan has worked as a wildland firefighter, emergency services dispatcher, trainer, supervisor, tactical dispatcher, and CAD administrator.  Dan constantly focuses on the next phase of development and improvement. 

In this episode Dan shares:

• The centralization of CAD.
• The importance of project management.
• Recent advancements in CAD.
• Recent changes in mapping systems.

Some links and references:

• Dan shares a new way of providing location by using the app, What Three Words.
• He encourages listeners to read, It's Your Ship.
• Dan also recommends the book, The Giver.
• Dan has recently taken up golf as a way to reduce stress.  He recommends listeners check out World Golf's three-wheel golf carts.

Want to know what it takes to become a quality assurance analyst? Meet Ardelle Grima!  She has years of experience as an emergency medical technician (EMT), emergency services dispatcher, and quality assurance analyst.  Ardelle shares what led her to quality assurance and what it takes to be a quality assurance analyst. 

Be prepared to hear some laughs and learn about:

• How the call scoring process works
• Some tips to improve compliance scores
• The heaviest weighted questions and things to avoid when using emergency dispatch protocols
• Ways to redirect difficult callers
• Tips for using ProQA

In this episode Ardelle references

• Advanced Quality Assurance (AQA) AQUA?​​​​​​​
• Pre-Dispatch Instructions (PDIs)
• Pre-Arrival Instructions (PAIs)
• For a mobile field responder guides for determinant codes click here
• Learn more about determinant codes
• The Scarpeta Series by Patricia Cornwell

Do you stress over certain calls?  Are you worried about compliance scores? John Lofgren may have a few solutions for you. John has incorporated his experience as a firefighter, police officer, dispatcher, and supervisor to enhance how he coaches both his team and other agencies.  As a certified instructor with the International Academy of Emergency Dispatch and Training Manager at the Authority, John shares some of his knowledge and tips in quality assurance and training.

In this episode, John discusses:

• The shift from quality improvement to training.
• Ways to prepare for certain calls.
• How calls are reviewed during the quality assurance process.
• How to build team cohesion and consistency.

John references:

• The International Academy of Emergency Dispatch
• Training through the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) such as the Center Manager Certification Program (CMCP) and the Certified Training Officer (CTO) program.  You can learn more about all of NENA’s programs at nena.org.
• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• 5 Levels of Leadership by John Maxwell
• Dare to Lead by Brené​​​​​​​ Brown

Jessica Flohrs is the Communications Center Manager at Teller County Sheriff's Office and has years of experience as a dispatcher, trainer, supervisor, and quality assurance analyst. Jessica holds a Communications Center Manager Certification through the National Emergency Number Association along with many other certifications.

If you have ever experienced overload, this is a great episode for you. Jessica reminds us that our brains are always capable of learning and re-learning if we allow ourselves time to train and grow.  She's had to re-train herself through working at different agencies and training others.  She also reminds us that, "They're just people" and we are all human.

During this episode of the podcast, you will hear about:

• Some of Jessica's defining moments and why she has stayed in this career.
• Her approach to leadership and training.
• Tips on how to transition into a new role and different agency.
• Recent technology changes in her center.
• A surprising fact about 9-1-1 service.

Jessica references:

• Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
• NENA's Center Manager Certification Program
• NENA's Center Supervisor Program
• Very high frequency (VHF) vs. 800 MHz radio frequencies.  You can learn more about radio frequencies on the FCC's website.