In the latest episode of the Lifeline 911 podcast, hosts Erica Roberts and Gary Elmore coin the term “Bronze Level Operator“: dispatchers that exist in every center that do just enough to get by every day (as opposed to those that go above and beyond.) The pair discuss how to work with this type of coworker, the causes of their disposition (nature, or nurture?), and things you can do to motivate those coworkers during your tour of duty.
Read MoreIn this month’s training blast, AEP Director of Technology Alex Chiasson talks about the importance of periodically refreshing yourself on standards and procedures that typically only apply to specific times of the year in your center. Examples of this could be going over snow emergency information in the summer, or running through heat exposure medical calls and reviewing action reports from large summer events your city or town might have.
Read MoreAt AEP, The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) have made an interactive Telecommunicator Reclassification Map available to the public, with up-to-date information on every state in the US. Head over to NENA’s site to check your own status!
Read MoreOn July 1, 2025 at 12:01 am, the unionized city workers of the City of Philadelphia went on strike to protest for better wages and conditions. While the merits of units and strikes and general, and public sectors unions in particular, is its own discussion, what is relevant to us is that the 9-1-1 operators and police dispatchers also went on strike. That means that emergency calls for service in the City of Brotherly Love go unanswered to some extent. Is there an acceptable reason for emergency operators to strike?
Read MoreIn this month's Monthly Training Blast, AEP Instructor Erica Roberts explains a process she uses for teaching task prioritization to new hires in her dispatch center: the "bucket list". Far from just a 2007 American buddy comedy-drama film directed and produced by Rob Reiner, in this context the "buckets" refer to mental spaces where the new hire should sort incoming tasks in order to process them in the most effective order.
Read MoreWishing you a safe and joyful Independence Day filled with family, friends, and fun! Thank you for letting us be a part of your nationwide community.
Read MoreJuly is a big “research and development” month for AEP, where we step back from traveling to focus on our education products to ensure they're the best they can possibly be. What would you like to see from us? This could be topics you’d like to hear about, or educational styles you’d like us to explore!
Read MoreA VPN is a tool that encrypts your internet traffic and routes it through a remote server of your choosing somewhere else in the world. A VPN can help protect your data from eavesdropping, especially when you're using public Wi-Fi networks, which are often not secure.
Read MoreThe first few moments of an emergency 9-1-1 call set the tone and success of the entire incident. Knowing how to control a call from the beginning to be able to ask questions and receive information quickly is critically important to obtaining a positive outcome to emergency calls. But how do the telecommunicators do that when there is so much riding on the line? Join your host Erica this week as we delve into that topic.
Read MoreAmerican Emergency Preparedness are proud to announce the addition of Tatiana Rivera to our growing team of public safety professionals! Tatiana joins AEP as both a curriculum development contributor and instructor, bringing with her over a decade of front line experience and leadership in emergency communications.
Read MoreAEP Director of Research Paul Bourgeois Ph.D. continued his partnership with the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) this week, publishing an article in the IAED Journal of Emergency Dispatch titled “Call to Action“.
Read MoreVisit us at the American Emergency Preparedness booth 405 and 504 in the exhibit hall, where we will be talking with valued members of our profession about continued training, and how to continue working to create an open communication between everyone in our field.
Read MoreVolume normalization is a feature in Spotify that automatically adjusts the volume of different songs to make them sound more consistent. The intention for this is to avoid jarring changes in volume when listening to songs in a playlist, When volume normalization is turned on, all songs are played at the same volume, regardless of how loud or soft they were originally recorded. But the setting has some major drawbacks, enough so that some would argue it does more harm than good and should be turned off as a default.
Read MoreWe’d like to give our sincere thanks to the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association for having us to present at their annual conference! The conference was a rousing success, and we were so inspired by all the community leaders we met there!
Read MoreAs a company of 911 dispatchers FOR 911 dispatchers, we understand that holding events only during the daytime hours may not work for everyone, especially those of us who work straight shifts during any particular time frame. In an industry that never sleeps, we want to be there for you, and that’s why we’ve begun scheduling webinars and other virtual events during the overnight hours.
Read MoreWe’re proud to announce the launching of a new 4-hour workshop called “It’s OK To Laugh!“, premiering as a virtual workshop on March 10th in our Virtual Classroom. This workshop exposes the 911 professional to proven self-care techniques they will be able to utilize every day of their career, on and off the job.
Read MoreWe all know that dispatch centers are prone to "the regulars", members of the community who call daily for a variety of reasons. While it can be tempting to not treat these callers with the same urgency as other, more unique complaints, we must remember that as public servants, every call for service needs to be treated with the same level of respect.
Read MoreWe’re excited to announce that we’ll be returning to the Navigator conference in 2025 from April 13th to the 17th in sunny Orlando, Florida! Visit us at the American Emergency Preparedness booth in the exhibit hall, where we will be talking with valued members of our profession about continued training, and how to continue working to create an open communication between everyone in our field.
Read MoreJust because the body of water in your city has frozen over, that doesn't mean it becomes any less of a potential site for a water rescue. Ted and Coilin talk about the context these types of calls exist in, as well as tips and reminders that can help ensure the safety of all involved.
Read MoreOn the latest episode of the Lifeline 911 Podcast, co-host Erica Roberts sits down with AEP Director of Operations Justin Prescott about how a person in a leadership position at an emergency telecommunications center should be expected to act, and the responsibilities they should be anticipating on a daily basis.
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