What happens when your CAD system crashes in the middle of a priority call?

No tickets.

No unit statuses.

No AVL.

Just dispatchers, radios, paper forms, and experience.

In this episode of TiPS: Today in Public Safety, Fletch breaks down the real-world ECC Dark Mode playbook — how 9-1-1 dispatch centers continue operating when Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) goes down.

This episode is built for Public Safety Telecommunicators, ECC supervisors, PSAP directors, NG911 planners, and field responders who know that technology can fail — but operations can’t.

Why CAD outages still happen, even in cloud-based and NG911 environments

When and how to declare a CAD outage to prevent operational chaos

How to run an effective paper CAD workflow

Radio discipline techniques that keep responders safe

How to manage units when AVL and mapping fail

Tactical reroute strategies for Fire, EMS, and Law Enforcement

Why the scribe role is critical during CAD downtime

How to safely restore CAD service without losing incident history or timelines

Whether you work in a 9-1-1 center, manage ECC operations, design NG911 networks, or respond in the field, this episode delivers practical, battle-tested guidance for one of the most feared scenarios in public safety communications.

Because when CAD goes dark…

dispatchers become the system.

👍 If your center has ever gone manual and survived, like, subscribe, and share this episode with your team.

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Visit 911TiPS.com for the complete archive of episodes.

Read my blogs at Fletch.TV, and learn more at Fletch911.com.

Thanks for listening — and if you’re in Public Safety, thanks for what you do every single day. Stay safe.

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